A tour of Evergreen Commons - PHOTOS

The old Prospect Ave. Baptist Church on Buffalo's lower west side will have new life as Evergreen Commons, the future home of Evergreen Health Services -- but first, it's going to host one hell of a party. The facility will be home to the Cause for Mass Appeal fashion show beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 -- it's expected to draw 1,000 people and be one of the hottest events of the year. For tickets, visit www.causeformassappeal.com.

As for the future of the church? Here's an update from Justin Azzarella, associate vice president of community services for Evergreen Health Services:

"Evergreen has been looking to expand its campus—four buildings and growing—for some time now. The agency is in need of additional office and storage space, which we plan to incorporate into the old sanctuary portion of Evergreen Commons. The main sanctuary will be used for our all staff meetings, lectures, special events, concerts, fundraisers like Cause for Mass Appeal and even weddings. We also plan to have an on-site banquet room that will seat up to 200 and some smaller community meeting spaces. To date, Evergreen Health Services has invested more than $300,000 in structural repairs, sidewalks, architectural lighting, asbestos removal and the repaving of the ancillary parking lot. The total projected cost of renovating Evergreen Commons is expected to top out at just below $1 million. We expect the facility to not only provide us with space for offices, storage and programming but to also generate enough revenue through special events to cover the cost of its acquisition and renovation. We’re also looking to Buffalo’s generous foundation community and our elected officials for support on this important community development project."

Read more about Cause for Mass Appeal, Evergreen Health Services and Azzarella in the Buffalo.com blog Cause for Mass Appeal: the story behind the scenes.

Photos by Donald Schwartz.