Christina Estes/KJZZ

In the 1980s, Phoenix used eminent domain to take control of 35 acres as part of Sky Harbor Airport's expansion.

There’s a big vote expected at Wednesday night's Phoenix City Council meeting which involves the future of the historic Sacred Heart Church at 16th Street and Buckeye Road.

If you’ve ever driven by, you’ve noticed a red brick mission-style church in the middle of quite literally nothing else. The land was bulldozed in the 1980s when Phoenix used eminent domain to buy 28 acres of land for Sky Harbor Airport’s expansion.

But the church itself was spared, thanks to a battle fought by the mainly Mexican-American parishioners. And there it’s sat, alone, behind barbed wire, opening only once a year for Christmas mass since.

Michelle Dodds, Phoenix’s historic preservation officer, joined The Show to give a little more insight on the history of the church and its significance to the area.