Community Meeting on Rosemont Kingdom Hall Project Set for Tonight

The city of Alexandria is hosting at 7 p.m. tonight at Durant Recreation Center to discuss the construction of a new Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on E. Masonic View Avenue in Rosemont. Representatives from the church and city staff will be in attendance. 

On Dec. 2, 2010, Del Ray Patch about the concerns of nearby residents that church construction had stalled. Several residents expressed displeasure with the state of the construction site and with a large fence that was constructed around the perimeter.

"They're awful, awful neighbors. It seems like the church has little regard for the neighborhood," said Patrick Donovan, a resident on nearby Myrtle Street, in December. "Not only are [they] destroying our property values but [they're] also destroying the quaintness of our little neighborhood."

The Jehovah's Witnesses use an all-volunteer workforce for construction projects. The denomination has an organized body experienced in supervising building sites. A regional building committee connected to a local branch office oversees all construction and maintenance to multiple churches in a defined area. Volunteers are predominately skilled tradesmen, including contractors and electricians.

The old Kingdom Hall building, which had become antiquated and had outlived its usefulness, was demolished on Nov. 20. Jorge Bracamonte, who is managing the site, expressed confidence in December that process would move quickly, saying that it would take just six weeks to construct the new church after clearing demolition debris. However, Bracamonte said weather and limits on when work could be performed were concerns.

As of Wednesday, some foundation work had been done on the site.

Church representatives and city staff will be on hand to answer questions about the project at tonight's meeting.

“This meeting could prove to be hugely important to the future of our neighborhood,” Donovan said in a recent email to Rosemont residents. “I fear that if we have a relatively small turnout, the city
and the church will assume that that there are only a handful of residents who are concerned about this matter. However, if we have a large turnout, this will get the attention of all present, and hopefully bring about a prompt resolution to this matter.”