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75-year-old Riviera Beach church demolished after property sold

Developer buys property for $1.35 million
First Haitian Baptist Church demolition, Sept. 2, 2022
Posted at 3:42 PM, Sep 02, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-02 18:07:56-04

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A 75-year-old historic church in Riviera Beach is no longer standing.

Demolition crews knocked down the church this week and are still taking down the former church annex.  

The church was once the religious center for Riviera Beach's Haitian community.  

For the past year, the congregation of the First Haitian Baptist Church tried to fight eviction, and its lawyers wanted to stop demolition while they continued court appeals.  

The property is a block from the Intracoastal Waterway.

It had been owned by a Miami company, which sold it in February for $1.35 million to a company affiliated with businessman Wayne Huizenga Jr.