Almost twenty years ago, Dr. Anthony Wallace founded New Direction Christian Center, which grew into a large church with Christian school and many programs. For a period of time, the church occupied a 22,000 square foot building at 6524 44th Street in South Sacramento, which is now occupied by Bayside of South Sacramento.
Dr. Anthony Wallace
Unfortunately, due to financial hardships, New Direction couldn’t hang on to the building it once owned due to the crushing recession. In the years since, New Direction has rented different facilities for church services, including a long-term shared arrangement with a Seventh-Day Adventist church and for the past two years through Sunday-only rentals of the historic Guild Theater in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento. New Direction has always been blessed with a place to meet, but its members have longed for the day when they can once again utilize their own building throughout the entire week.
Separately, Dr. Wallace also launched Ramsey Wallace Funeral Home & Chapel around four years ago with offices most recently located at 1414 S Street in Midtown Sacramento. The funeral operation has experienced significant growth over the past few years and is well recognized in the community. Towards the end of the funeral home’s lease period, the building was sold and Dr. Wallace was asked to relocate. Now, “the home that service built” had to find a new home of its own.
In a surprising alignment of circumstances, both New Direction Christian Center and Ramsey Wallace Funeral Home found new homes and signed two separate leases on exactly the same day in late September 2016. It all started when Brian Jacks, principal broker of Jacks Commercial Real Estate, toured an investor client through 1414 S Street for possible purchase of the building. Meeting Dr. Wallace, and learning of his impending lease termination, Jacks immediately went to work to identify suitable alternate properties that could accommodate a funeral home; otherwise, the business would have to close without a State of California approved location from which to operate. Meanwhile, Jacks also learned of Dr. Wallace’s desire to relocate the church into a permanent location… and the rest is history.
Future home of New Direction Christian Center at 3841 4th Ave, Sacramento, CA (Oak Park)
New Direction Christian Center now occupies a former Seventh-Day Adventist church at 3841 4th Ave in Oak Park, only 1/4 mile away from its previous location at the Guild Theater. The 3/4 acre site includes a 5,800 square foot traditional church building on two floors and is located in a quiet neighborhood across from American Legion High School. Just prior to signing the church lease, Jacks sold the property and relocated the former church congregation to a new facility in West Sacramento. The timing was perfect, as the new investor/owner/landlord wanted a church tenant while considering possible plans for redevelopment. Still, New Direction has locked in a multi-year lease and is overjoyed about the move.
Ramsey Wallace Funeral Home will be soon be announcing its grand opening in the Odd Fellows Hall at 1831 Howe (near Arden Fair Mall). Finding a suitable location for a funeral home in the County of Sacramento meant that only properties zoned “General Commercial” would be eligible. Still, Jacks found the needle in the haystack and negotiated favorable terms with Dr. Wallace’s operation now guaranteed a full 10 years of occupancy.
Future home of Ramsey Wallace Funeral Home & Chapel at Odd Fellows Hall (1831 Howe Ave #B, Sacramento, CA)
In addition to the 4,000 + square foot space that will facilitate offices, chapel services and viewings, the Odd Fellows building also offers special access to its community room and banquet hall with catering for larger events and repasses when necessary. And, directly on the other side of the funeral home is Exotic Plants, which is certain to provide flower arrangements for many families as part of their funeral package.
New Direction Christian Center will now have the opportunity to plant roots in Oak Park and launch new outreach programs for the community. Also, the former location of Ramsey Wallace Funeral Home could not accommodate viewing rooms or chapel services, but those limitations are now a thing of the past. Its a lot of change all at once, but all for the better.
Article contributed by Brian Jacks
Brian Jacks is a Sacramento commercial real estate broker (since 1996), specializing in commercial leasing and investment sale transactions for retail, office, industrial, multifamily, mixed-use, and special purpose properties. Having spent over 20 years with Wells Fargo, he personally facilitated the underwriting, approval and funding of more than 225 commercial real estate loans totaling over $1 billion in proceeds. Jacks is the Principal Broker for JACKS Commercial Real Estate, which serves the Sacramento market for commercial sales and leasing of all property types. For more information, contact Brian Jacks:
Brian Jacks | Principal Broker | (916) 837-3456
Brian@JacksCRE.com | BRE Broker Lic. #01217349
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