The former Kerr's Furniture building is being town down by First United Methodist Church of Butler, which owns the property and will construct a new building next to its Crossfire campus.

CENTER TWP — First United Methodist Church of Butler is tearing down the former Kerr's Furniture building next to its Crossfire campus on Route 8 at Mercer Road.

Tom Holman, the chairman of the church's board of trustees, said the church is looking to construct a new building in its place.

“It doesn't structurally meet our needs,” he said of the current building.

Holman said the plans for the new building are in the early stages of design.

He did not have a timetable of when the building might be built, but said it would likely be used for classrooms, children's ministries, and as a gathering area.

“It's all a work in progress,” Holman said. “We're trying to decide what we want based on what we can afford.”

The site of the Kerr's building is expected to be cleared within a few weeks. Holman said the church may use the soon vacant lot as additional parking until work on the new building begins or it may be roped off.

The Crossfire campus is a branch of the church in Butler. It has one weekly service on Sundays.

The church has owned the property for about a year, Holman said.

The structure was built in the early 1970s.