REAL ESTATE

Church Finds Home: Calvary Chapel of Anaheim-Christ Fellowship members originally hoped to buy vacant property in Anaheim and build a church. But they decided their dream didn’t have a prayer.

So instead, they rented space in an industrial building--a move that has become increasingly common for Southern California churches. With land prices so unaffordable, many congregations are taking advantage of discounted leases created by high vacancy rates.

“We’ve been saving for 11 years to buy,” said the Rev. Mark Bove, pastor of the 600-member Calvary Chapel. “But we came to the realization that was unrealistic.”

The chapel recently leased 20,000 square feet of a building near Ball Road and Anaheim Boulevard. Their 10-year contract, negotiated by the brokerage firm Grubb & Ellis, will cost the church $1.4 million.

Bove said that a lot of tender loving care--and more than $200,000--will be needed to make the industrial site feel like a place of worship. “We’re going to landscape the grounds, construct Sunday school rooms, put in a sanctuary with a skylight and revitalize the restrooms,” he said.

Still, he added, buying property and starting from scratch would have run up a tab of $2 million to $3 million--more than collection plates could be expected to fund.

For the last five years, Calvary Chapel has been meeting in Garden Grove’s Walton Junior High School. It will continue to hold services there for at least five months.