FC Cincinnati has purchased and plans to demolish two West End churches just north of where the team is building a stadium – but Cincinnati Councilman Chris Seelbach says not so fast.

Though the churches chose to sell their property, Seelbach wants to preserve Revelation Baptist Church, arguing it is a key part of the city's history and should remain standing.

He made the case Tuesday when he filed paperwork with the city's planning department to designate the property at 1556 John Street as historic.

Even if the church is designated a historic property, it can still be demolished. But the team would need approval from the Historic Conservation Board.

While it's not in the way of the stadium's actual footprint,the team wants the site for other possible stadium-area developments.

"To tear down such an important part of our city’s religious history is wrong," Seelbach told The Enquirer. "This building deserves a historic designation, and I’m hopeful the current owners will appreciate and respect its place in the future of our city by not destroying it. We can’t attract people, families and jobs to our city by demolishing the historic buildings that make us unique."

In the filing, Seelbach argues:

• The church is important to the evolution of Reform Judaism in Cincinnati, the development of the West End as an important black enclave and to the Civil Rights movement.

• The church is associated with significant figures in Cincinnati's history, including David Everett Wade, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth.

• The church is an example of early ecclesiastic architecture, is the second oldest synagogue remaining in Cincinnati and is the oldest church still used for religious purposes.

Built in 1865 as asynagogue, it was later a German Lutheran Church during World War I. And, finally, it was home of Revelation Baptist Church, where civil rights leader Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Sr. preached from 1961-1966, making it the center of African American life in Cincinnati.

"Through this single structure Cincinnati can trace its early development, its religious and ethnic heritage, and connect with the lives and contributions of Cincinnati's most important citizens," Seelbach wrote. "The site is a document of change over time in Cincinnati, of the contributions of specific historic figures, and an important piece of our city's architectural heritage."

Walter Collier, chairman of Preservation Baptist Church's board of trustees, told The Enquirer via letter the congregation voted 49-5 to approve the sale. It was the church that initiated the sale with the team.

"For some time, our church has been interested in opportunities to minister in a new church building located in [a] new neighborhood," Collier wrote, adding his hope that doing so increases participants.

The property exchanged hands in May and team officials said the team is paying to develop the new church on West Galbraith Road, per an agreement with the congregation.

As part of the agreement, the church will take the stained glass windows to the new location.

Team spokeswoman Anne Sesler previously told The Enquirer that the team purchased the church at the congregation’s request, with the intent to have the building vacated and then demolished. Tuesday she said that the move to now create a historical designation, after the club’s legal purchase and filing for a demolition permit, "is nakedly political and inappropriate."

The congregation will remain in its current building until the new church is built, she said.

The second place of worship slated for demolition is the former Jehovah's Witness site, at 1535 Central Ave.

Laura Brunner, CEO of the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, said in a message that FC Cincinnati funded the purchase through the Port. Some parcels will be part of the new stadium.

The sale price has not been disclosed.

A request for a demolition permit for the site has been submitted.No demolition permits have been issued at this point, city records show.

"Once the Department of Buildings and Inspections receives the required information it will be reviewed and the permit will be issued if no revisions are needed," city Spokesman Casey Weldon said.

FC Cincinnati is building a $250 million privately funded stadium in the West End. It's been a battle from the get-go when the team was awarded an expansion team in 2017, with play in Major League Soccer beginning this season.

Council couldn't decide where to put it, with a final 5-4 vote to allow it to be built in the West End. Then there were arguments over how much money the team should infuse into the community and most recently public outcry over the team's purchase of two small apartment buildings, from which residents were told to vacate.

The final design was unveiled last month. The stadium is set to open in March 2021.

What's next for the possible historic designation:

The decision must go through three hearings.