COGIC Publishing House building opens in Whitehaven, hopes to spur development

The Church of God in Christ Publishing House is now open in Whitehaven as part of a three-phase project meant to bring more jobs to the community, developer Frazer Windless said.

Windless, owner of Windcorp Corp., said the building on Brooks Road near Lakeview Road was a skating rink when it was built in the 1960s, and more recently it was a club and banquet hall used for special events. The redevelopment to transform it into the publishing house was a $1.5 million project.

"The front is administrative and the warehouse is on the back side to distribute their books all over the world," Windless said.

The COGIC Publishing House was created in the early 1960s. It creates, publishes and distributes Christian educational materials to its members in all 50 states, Canada, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and the Caribbean, according to Chief Operating Officer Vickie Burse. 

The publishing house generates about $4.5 million in revenue each year and officials anticipate the move could grow that annual revenue to as much as $5 million.

With this phase complete, Windless said he hopes to follow it with more development in the same area in the coming years.

Phase 2 would bring a youth baseball camp along with an information center that will serve as a small library to provide internet access and other technology resources to the families in the neighborhood. The information center could also include a small restaurant.

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The final phase would bring apartments or condos to the area less than two miles from Graceland.

"We’re right down the street from Graceland, and we want to complement what they have down there," he said.

Windless said he hopes his development — which, when complete, will have COGIC's office space, community resources, a recreational area and housing in a single area  — will mimic the kinds of mixed-use projects coming to Downtown and spur developers to follow his lead. He anticipates that could take as long as eight years to bring his vision to life.

"Whitehaven is getting overlooked, and it has been getting overlooked for years," Windless said. "I wanted to boost the Whitehaven area. ... We need to do what we can as businesses to create more jobs and bring more opportunities."

COGIC Publishing House moved from its former building on Lamar Avenue into the new office. Windless said there will be about 35 employees working at the publishing house. 

Desiree Stennett covers economic development and business at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.