Historic Church Back on the Market for More Than Three Times the Price

A church in downtown Brooklyn has put its historic building back on the market as a development site for more than three times the price it was asking in 2011. Churches selling out to developers is becoming a big trend in Brooklyn lately as real estate values skyrocket. This particular church offered its property for sale after a fire ravaged the interior in 2010.

The offer from the Recovery House of Worship at 360 Schermerhorn Street would allow a developer to build as much as 55,000 square feet of residential space but also allow the church group to stay on in 45,000 square feet on the ground floor in the form of a condominium unit it would own, Crain’s reported. The asking price is approximately $30,000,000, up from $8,000,000 in 2011 when it was listed with Corcoran.

The cost of the condo would be deducted from the sale price. TerraCRG is marketing the property.

The 19th century Romanesque Revival building of rusticated brick, brownstone and terra cotta is on the National Registry of Historic Places but is not federally or locally a landmark, which means it is not protected from being razed or altered. A buyer could demolish the church or build an addition to the existing structure, said Crain’s.

Downtown Brooklyn Church Could Fetch $30 Million [Crain’s]
Building of the Day: 360 Schermerhorn Street [Brownstoner] GMAP
Photo by nycago.org

Update: TerraCRG said the deal would be structured as a joint venture partnership, not a sale, and $30,000,000 is an estimate of the value of the property, not an asking price. The church “would retain the community facility and retail and the developer would retain the residential or office/hotel portion of the project,” said the firm in a press release. Proposals are due in early March and must be approved by the congregation as well as the attorney general, according to the release.