The 110-year-old Latvian Catholic church will be no more. The church located at 507 Broadway Avenue NW will be replaced by condominiums.

Dr. Zigfrids Zadvinskis, administrator of the small church said, "Our membership is getting old, and the young people are moving away. It’s getting expensive to keep the church going." Grand Rapids Diocesan Bishop Walter Hurley, with Zadvinskis’ blessing accepted the offer of the developers to buy the property.

The property for the condominiums will be bounded by First and Second Streets, and Broadway and Alabama..

The church building of red brick and stone was built by a Swedish congregation now known as Evangelical Covenant Church.

Our Lady of Aglona was formed in 1951 by 200 Latvian refugees. Their first church was sold to make room for I-196. They moved to this church building in 1961.

A weekly mass is held for the Latvian immigrants whose average age is between 65 to 70. The congregation plans to find a new place to worship. They may possibly renovate the Latvian Hall, 504 Grand Avenue NE.

The church can be demolish without the approval of the city Historic Preservation Commission because it is not located in the downtown area, and not designated as a historic landmark. It is expected that the demolition will take place this winter (2006).