Church Repurposing Multiple Heights Buildings

St. Charles Borromeo Church has been very busy on Sidney Place in Brooklyn Heights. According to a lengthy story in the Brooklyn Eagle, the church is in the final stages of a $9,000,000 renovation project that included turning the rectory at 21 Sidney Place into a school and constructing a seven-foot-wide building to connect the new school to the building next door, 23 Sidney Place, which has been a high school since 2011. And the church is nearing the end of its renovation of 31 Sidney Place next to the high school. The townhouse, a former convent, will now house the rectory and parish house. All of this work is being done so the parish can rent 21 Sidney Place to the Mary McDowell Friends School, a Quaker school for students with learning disabilities that is expanding to include a high school. The seven-story sliver will house the elevator that will take students to various floors in both buildings (it will have nine stops since the floors are at different heights in each building). The sliver was originally designed to have a glass facade but the Brooklyn Heights Association was unhappy with the modern look, according to the article in the Eagle. It was changed to a brick facade that would blend in with the existing buildings and quickly received approval from the Landmarks Commission. What do locals think about the new school on their block? More images after the jump.

Repurposing Historic Structures on Sidney Place [Brooklyn Eagle]