Why did a Naples Church just purchase a former fitness complex for $12 million?

For $12.2 million, the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Naples has finalized the purchase of an empty building and site on Golden Gate Parkway. The 30,000-square-foot structure will house the Naples Christian Academy’s new campus.

After housing several fitness clubs for the previous 20 years, the building has been empty since last summer. The 45-year-old property is now the subject of ambitious plans by the Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to a recent article by Mahmoud of Fox 4.

The Covenant Church of Naples’ executive director, John Hunter, notes that there is a growing need for Christian schools in the community and that the refurbished site will eventually house students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

“It’s strategically located as it relates to the current population of the school and the attendees there,” Hunter explained. “It’s accessible. It is large enough to be renovated for the capacity of the 225 kids.”

According to Hunter, the Naples Christian Academy has been in operation for fifty-two years. They have had to lease locations for the academy from several proprietors for the last few years.

After renovations, the site would become its new main location.

Three of Claudia Wagner’s children attend the academy. She told Fox 4 that she and other parents are thrilled about the new location.

“It’s going to be a large campus, I believe… and they’ll be able to, I hope, do a lot of other things that’ll afford them the space,” says Wagner.

According to Hunter, they have conditional authority from the county to proceed with their plans. The terms include student capacity restrictions and traffic congestion during drop-off and pick-up hours.

Renovations at the Covenant Church of Naples are expected to start soon. According to Hunter, the school might be open for business as early as the 2025–2026 academic year.

This article originally appeared on Fox4