In the summer of 1996, one of the Civics' tenants, the New Spirit Revival Center, which had been renting a section of the building for their Sunday services, approached the Civic with a proposal to sign a long-term lease for the Great Hall. In return for a long-term lease, they would agree to substantially rehabilitate the Great Hall to use as their permanent facility. The original plan for this, the largest and most attractive of the large spaces in the building, had been as a multi-purpose space. The area now had a raked floor, (theater style), with a stage in the front, plus a large balcony). The Great Hall can accommodate as many as 1,600 people on the main floor and balcony. The architectural plan called for the space to be renovated with a flat floor and movable rather than fixed seating. The balcony was to remain as currently configured, but the space below the balcony on the main floor would become part of an extended lobby, because the current lobby space was not large enough to function effectively for a multi-purpose hall. The new configuration, as envisioned by vanDijk, Pace, Westlake & Partners, would accommodate about 900 on the main floor and balcony for performances, and could seat close to 400 for a banquet.

Before the board of the Civic was willing to consider a long-term lease, they asked the congregation for assurances on a number of items. The first was that the work undertaken by New Spirit would conform to the vanDijk plan, that historical considerations would be taken into consideration, and that the space could be rented out for performances when the congregation was not using the facility. After several months of negotiations, a deal was struck for a seven-year lease. The only change made to the vanDijk plan was that the raked floor would not be changed to a flat floor. This would have greatly increased the cost. The original vanDijk cost estimate for the Great Hall was approximately two million dollars. New Spirit was willing to spend about $250,000. Their work provided valuable improvements for the hall. The fixed seating and worn carpeting were removed. New carpet was installed and the entire area repainted. A ramp was installed to provide easier access for the disabled to the hall. The area below the balcony on the main floor was turned into the enlarged lobby that vanDijk had planned. For its part, the Civic committed to fixing the leaky roof and to repair or replace the windows that were rotted and leaking.

In the years since the lease was signed, the congregation's membership has increased dramatically from several hundred to well over 1,000. The congregation is presently renting additional space in the Civic several times a month. Because of their expanded use, the plan to rent out the Great Hall for occasional one-day performances has never been implemented. This has become a revenue problem for the Civic because it is estimated that the space could bring in $1,500 to $2,000 per day as a performance space.