The former United Methodist Church in Great Barrington is now the "Flying Church" after a years-long renovation project which raised the original structure by almost seven feet.
"The foundation was in very bad condition. It was an old fieldstone foundation. It was undermined. It was no good. So it had to be jacked up at least an inch to get another foundation underneath. And once you jack it up an inch, it doesn't matter, jack it up a few more feet or whatever," said Paul Joffe, owner and developer of the Great Barrington Flying Church.
Owner Paul Joffe said the new ground floor has room for several businesses.
Meanwhile, the church's main interior was kept intact and will become a restaurant and live music venue.
"We kept all the stained glass windows. We actually opened up the walls so you could see the work that the guys did 150 years ago, beautiful post and beam work, and so that part is preserved," said Joffe.
Some tenants have already moved in, with more to come by the end of the year.
One of the newcomers is Cosmic Donuts of Kinderhook, New York. They're opening their second location here this fall.
"I was raised here, and my grandfather actually had an automotive business in Great Barrington, right on Main Street, many, many years ago, so we thought it would be really cool to bring ourselves back to where we came from," said Jhori Jurgenson, co-owner of Cosmic Donuts.
And by bringing new businesses into the old church, Joffe is hopeful his development will help grow the downtown area.
"They made a plan a while back to have more streetscapes, more walking in town, that's the kind of town this is. We're adding to that. So what was a place people didn't really notice before, is now a place that you can go and have a nice time and explore," said Joffe.