PARKVILLE, Md. — The former VFW Hall (Colony Theater building) on Harford Road in Parkville will soon become the latest outpost for Mountain Christian Church.
The large Harford County-based church announced last weekend that the Parkville site will be its first location outside of Harford. The church bought the building in February for $1.5 million, according to online property records.
Mountain Christian said on its website that "we can envision a thriving church community growing in this unique and historic space. We have around 200 Mountain families already living in the surrounding area who could be a part of creating something new and beautiful in Parkville." This would be the church's fifth location.
The VFW Hall, near Garnet Road, has been vacant for several years, since the VFW sold it to Citywide Properties. The company owns several local properties, including Ridgely's Choice office park in Perry Hall; it had planned to turn the VFW Hall into a supermarket, reported the Baltimore Business Journal in 2022.
The prominent building has a marquee from its original days as the Colony Theater and dates to the 1940s. The church plans to retain the marquee and historic appearance, but the inside would be converted to a state-of-the-art auditorium that can transition to a multipurpose sports facility for games like pickleball and basketball. A freestanding building in the back will be razed, and the back area would instead be converted to a grassy area with an attached building.
Jared Fox, director of campuses and interim campus pastor for Mountain, said the church hopes to turn the space into a gathering space once again.
"When it was a theater, it was a hub for the community," he said.
Also, "one thing that has become clear to us is, the area could use more great churches."
Fox said he visited the neighborhood recently and walked around Oak Forest Drive.
Everyone was so friendly and so welcoming... It's just blowing us away. The Lord is really paving the way for us.
The building is tentatively expected to open in early 2026, although Mountain noted that they're launching some ministries in the area much sooner. Anyone with interest about the facility should reach out to parkville@mountaincc.org .
