Area restaurateur Tony George had the winning bid for Cleveland’s historic First Methodist Church. He plans to turn the building into a banquet facility that can host weddings. Cleveland.com reports that the church complex at Euclid Avenue and East 30th Street will sell for $489,500, which is George's bid of $445,000 plus a 10 percent buyer's premium. The sale is scheduled to occur by March 29. According to News 5, the bidding started at $250,000 on the property that was once listed for $1.7 million. George reportedly plans to remove the pews and level out the floor, leaving all of the stained glass windows and walls in place in the two-floor, 24,000-square-foot church and sanctuary, and turn the adjacent four-floor, 28,000-square-foot school into offices. “I think this is one of the most iconic, historic, beautiful buildings in Cleveland,” George told News 5. “I didn’t want it to go to a developer that was going to tear it down.”
