Posted online February 9, 2018 | 11:06 am

Last edited 11:38 a.m., Feb. 9, 2018

Edmond, Oklahoma-based Life.Church filed for a permit to renovate the south-side former Remington’s property for a new campus, according to city records.



The filing identifies Thomas Small, owner of Small Architects in Edmond, who this morning said his firm is the architect of record for the new campus project at 1655 W. Republic Road. Officials on Jan. 29 filed for a building permit described as a “renovation project by Life.Church.” The estimated project cost is $2 million, according to the filing, which is pending approval by the Springfield Building Development Services Department.



Officials with Life.Church declined to say whether the organization purchased the property or if there were any specific plans for the Remington’s building.



“We don’t have any firm plans that we’re ready to announce yet,” said spokeswoman Rachel Feuerborn. “I’m sure the public record is accurate. We just don’t have anything else to add to that.”



Life.Church has a page on its website dedicated to determining whether demand exists for its services in Springfield.



Ridgecrest Baptist Church in November sold the 30,000-square-foot Remington’s building to MMXVII Holding LLC. That LLC is registered with the Oklahoma secretary of state by Oklahoma City law firm McAfee & Taft.



The city records also list the property owner as Brett Harrington, who appears to be involved with Life.Church. Documents found online show letters sent to Harrington related to an engineering firm’s work on the Life.Church campus in Overland Park, Kansas.



Life.Church’s website lists nearly 30 campuses in eight states. An Omaha, Nebraska, location is marked as opening in spring 2018, but no Missouri campuses are on the organization’s territory map.



Life.Church’s Facebook page is followed by more than 250,000 people. The organization also has made a substantial push online with technology, including its Bible app that’s been downloaded on more than 250 million devices through Apple. In an October 2017 article, 24/7 Wall St. ranked Life.Church No. 3 on its list of the largest churches in America. According to the article, Life.Church has an average weekly attendance of 30,000.



Ridgecrest purchased Remington’s — once Missouri’s largest nightclub — in 2004 for $3.3 million, according to Springfield Business Journal reporting. It closed the venue in late 2015 and sought $5.2 million during the sale process.

SBJ did not observe any exterior renovation work at the property.