converting night club into community center

3 media outlets reported on news of Vox Veniae, the Christian community led by pastors Gideon Tsang and Weylin Lee, leasing a former East Austin night club and converting it into a community center and worship gathering space.

• Club Where Sgt. Shot & Killed Suspect to Become Church (Fox 7 video); also, under sidebar “Related Items”, click the thumbnail under “Videos” to Take a Tour of the Church
• Future of Chester’s: News 8’s Reagan Hackleman reports on how the former nightclub is being turned into a community center. (video)
• Former club site to become community center: Vox Veniae congregation focuses on community service. (Austin American-Statesman)

An excerpt from the Austin American-Statesman newspaper article::

The former site of a trouble-prone nightclub on East 12th Street will be born again.

A community center run by Vox Veniae, a Christian congregation with a focus on community service, is slated to take over the building previously occupied by Chester’s Club.

The after-hours, bring-your-own-bottle venue got attention citywide in June when an Austin police officer fatally shot a patron near the club. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo on Wednesday fired Sgt. Michael Olsen, who shot Kevin Brown.

A couple of months after the shooting, the City Council passed an ordinance regulating BYOB venues. Chester’s shut down. And neighbors who had for months complained about activity around the club were satisfied.

Gideon Tsang, one of the pastors of Vox Veniae, said the group signed a five-year lease. It hopes to move in by January and start mentoring, computer training and after-school programs by early summer.

Volunteers began renovations Monday inside the 4,800-square-foot building, he said.

Also, get an inside look at their renovation photos.