Carlton Mews Church to be Saved from Danger of Collapse

Great news for those following the development of Carlton Mews, the lot in Fort Greene where five townhouses will soon be built: The church on the property, which is in dire structural shape, should soon be getting the attention it deserves. At last night’s Community Board 2 land use meeting, the committee approved a proposal for structural repairs to the long-abandoned house of worship, which fronts Adelphi Street, between Willoughby and Dekalb avenues. Previous developers of the site began excavation before running out of money, leaving the structure in a deteriorated state. The church was purchased in December for $970,000, according to public records. (It was purchased separately from the empty lot and adjoining townhouse fronting Carlton, which went for $4.1 million in November.) Click through to find out what the repairs will entail…

Currently, the roof is deteriorating, allowing water to pour through, and the slate needs to come off as soon as possible. The LPC is conducting an expedited review to approve the roof repairs. The slate will be removed, but the architects spearheading the job are unsure how much of it will be salvageable. Other work includes underpinning, repair of the existing sheathing, and the application of a temporary roof membrane to keep water from coming in. When the architect was asked what the eventual plan was for the building, he responded: “We were hired at this point just to make sure the building doesn’t fall down.” GMAP