Baptist Church Looking to Team With Developer
A couple weeks ago an $8 million listing appeared for the Baptist church on Schermerhorn Street and 3rd Avenue, but a story in today’s Journal says the congregation is looking to work with a developer on a mixed-use conversion rather than simply selling the building off. New Baptist Temple’s pastor says the church doesn’t intend…
A couple weeks ago an $8 million listing appeared for the Baptist church on Schermerhorn Street and 3rd Avenue, but a story in today’s Journal says the congregation is looking to work with a developer on a mixed-use conversion rather than simply selling the building off. New Baptist Temple’s pastor says the church doesn’t intend to relocate but, instead, find a builder that would construct a residential addition and help renovate the church, which was damaged by a fire last year. Ideally, the congregation would stay put and the church—which is on the National Register but isn’t a city landmark—wouldn’t be demolished. However, it’s unclear how costly it would be to repair the property. Ofer Cohen, president of the commercial brokerage TerraCRG, is quoted as saying that while there’s plenty of demand for condos or rentals in the area, it would probably “be cheaper to knock it down” rather than rebuild.
Church Thinks Mixed-Use [WSJ]
Baptist Church on Schermerhorn For Sale [Brownstoner] GMAP
Photo via PropertyShark
National Register listing does not protect a building from demolition or disfigurement if the work is done with private sector funds.
This is a large building and I could imagine how it might be reconfigured to accommodate uses other than church-related uses. However, it takes imagination and leadership on behalf of the church.