Tampa Without Walls to sell Lakeland site

By Bill Coats, Times Staff Writer
Published March 7, 2008

---

Without Walls International Church is close to selling its huge Without Walls Central church in Lakeland and settling into its Tampa location debt-free, Pastor Randy White said Thursday.

Without Walls could solve its crowding problems in Tampa by building a parking garage, White said. As for the Lakeland congregation, White said, "They'll be very excited."

White said Without Walls has been planning for a year to put both locations on the market, where they are listed for $30-million each.

With some 20,000 members, Without Walls is the Tampa Bay area's largest church. But it encountered a rocky period last year after White and his wife, Paula, divorced and a U.S. Senate committee asked for detailed reports on Without Walls' finances. Without Walls hasn't complied.

White sought to dispel any notions that the dual "for sale" offers signaled that he was leaving. "I'm not running," he said. "I'm not leaving. I'm not forsaking our people."

Without Wall campuses

Tampa

4,500 seats; 13 acres

Bought in 1998 for $6.6-million

Mortgage: $12-million

Property appraiser's value: $14.2-million

Without Walls' appraisal: nearly $30-million

Lakeland

11,000 seats; 74 acres

Bought in 2005 for $15-million

Mortgage: $10-million

Property appraiser's value: $14.1-million

Without Walls' appraisal: $27-million

Sources: Public records, Pastor Randy White.