"I don't expect we could ever satisfy everyone," said Bob Adams, a parishioner and attorney for the church. "But I hope everyone realizes we made a good-faith effort to be sensitive" to the integrity of the neighborhood's architecture.
Now, instead of what opponents viewed as a stark behemoth, the design uses one of the formerly doomed buildings as a focal point and incorporates more brick into the total facade.
Bill Scott, a former Borough Council member, preservation advocate, and vocal opponent of the previous plan, said he was grateful for the church's efforts, but wanted more information, notably because one historic building has not been spared.
"The big message is thank you," Scott said. "This congregation should be commended for reversing itself, for being considerate of the community, and for recognizing the importance of a historic streetscape."
The church, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972, was designed by the renowned Greek Revival architect Thomas U. Walter and built in 1834. The church's conflict with West Chester dates back to 2006, when it bought two contiguous properties for a planned addition and promised not to destroy them.
Opponents geared up for a fight several years ago when the church relegated the two mid-19th-century homes to the wrecking ball. Last year, Preservation Pennsylvania, a nonprofit advocacy group, spotlighted the controversy by listing the homes on its annual "endangered" historic properties list.
Even some of the church's members sided with the preservationists.
Gordon Woodrow, a longtime borough resident, criticized the project at a Borough Council meeting, a position he said he found uncomfortable.
