A mall building with Hobby Lobby and Books-A-Million has been sold to a church, but the church’s real estate company says the business isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Rob Bell of Pensacola commercial real estate company Bellcore Commercial represented Destiny Worship Center in their purchase. He told NorthEscambia.com Tuesday morning that Hobby Lobby and Books-A-Million have entered into leases with options to extend. He said the church plans to honor those leases.

Previously, commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield said it had arranged the $7 million project for the shopping center at 6253 North Davis Highway in Pensacola and that it would be converted into a church. The building was constructed by a Walmart subsidiary in 1987 and then sold for $3.75 million in February 2002.

The Escambia County Property Appraiser’s website confirms the sale and the deed (pictured below) also confirms the transaction.

Hobby Lobby and Books-A-Million are tenants at the property, which was built in 1987 and includes 103,485 square feet in two leased spaces. Hobby Lobby and Books-A-Million occupy 70,100 and 33,385 square feet at the center, respectively.

NorthEscambia.com contacted Hobby Lobby on Monday to find out if the store could be moved or if it would close. We had not received a response from Hobby Lobby as of Tuesday noon.

The property was last valued at $6,965,998 by the property appraiser.

Destiny Worship Center, based in Destin, makes building families a top priority, according to its website.

The church has current locations in Destin, Freeport, Crestview, Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Kenya and Nicaragua. The church has not directly commented on the sale.

Courtesy photo, click to enlarge.