🔒With glut of available religious properties, buyers need creativity, vision to redevelop old churches

Colonial, Cape and bungalow are common terms used to describe the architectural style of homes and residences.

Gothic, Baroque or Byzantine are slightly less common terms used for residential or retail design.

But as more churches and houses of worship are coming on the real estate market — and many are converted into housing — brokers and developers are facing opportunities and challenges when repurposing these unique and sacred structures.

Since 2021 at least 16 religious properties have traded hands in Greater Hartford and New Haven, according to data from realty tracking service CoStar. At least nine religious properties are currently for sale in Greater Hartford alone.

In March, real estate agents Andy and Mike Schilke of Rhode Island-based Schilke Realty sold for $340,000 a 21,000-square-foot Gothic-style church at 2 Union St., in the heart of downtown Norwich.

Built in 1891 and renovated in 1975, the property can hold more than 500 people in the common areas. An additional wing has four levels used as offices, classrooms, storage and meeting rooms, and it also has a large commercial kitchen.

“We definitely had investors who saw housing opportunities, a few were thinking community centers,” Andy Schilke said. “It was a tough property from the perspective that it was almost 21,000 square feet with no parking.”

Lack of parking is one obstacle with many urban churches.

The topography — it was built into the back of a hill — didn’t make it ideal for demolition and new construction, “so it really came down to finding a good use,” Schilke said.

The buyer, a New York-based real estate investor, has pitched ideas for multifamily housing units in one part of the former church and an events hall in the open sanctuary area.

A 2018 church sale was a bit easier for the Schilke partners.

The Old Mystic Baptist Church on Shewville Road in Groton, is under 10,000 square feet, sitting on 5 acres with 140 parking spaces.

That property generated a lot of

interest, including from a funeral home operator.

It eventually sold to another religious group, the New London Church of Christ.

Schilke said there are challenges when selling church properties as more come on the market.

“What we saw with both churches were fewer parishioners trying to support large buildings,” Schilke said.

Commercial real estate agent Jim Basquil of Hartford-based Colliers Associates, has listed and sold multiple properties for the Archdiocese of Hartford, including churches, convents and schools.

He said each listing is unique. Often, developers can easily visualize converting a school or convent into apartments.

Agents and buyers face greater challenges in the church properties, especially ones that are centuries old or deemed historic.

Buyers often “have to figure out a use for the church because churches are not structured like schools,” Basquil said.

Amid declining church attendance and financial struggles, the Archdiocese of Hartford estimates it has sold approximately 105 buildings, including 25 churches, in the last five years since beginning its Pastoral Planning process, which helps parishes implement strategic plans for their properties.

Archdiocese officials said challenges relate to the number of church properties on the market as other religious organizations are looking to sell or repurpose properties.

Other obstacles include building location and condition, and availability of buyers who can qualify for financing.

The Archdiocese said most of its church buildings have been sold to other churches. Buildings, like schools or rectories, have gone to municipalities or other schools.

In a recent deal, a buyer purchased the former St. Peter school, convent and church, and St. Augustine school, all in Hartford, with plans to transform all buildings except the church into apartments.

Sometimes “it’s hard to imagine these churches as housing, and converting a large, open church into (apartment) units is cost-prohibitive,” Basquil said.

Common ideas for large gothic-style houses of worship include entertainment venues or community centers. For example, lawyer Jose L. Del Castillo is working on plans to convert the former downtown Hartford Ados Israel Synagogue at 215 Pearl St., into an events space for parties, weddings and large gatherings.

The architecture on many of these centuries-old structures is “magnificent” and presents the opportunity to create a truly unique space, Basquil said.

Housing remains a popular yet still-challenging plan among developers who convert religious buildings.

In November, a developer proposed converting the former St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on South Main Street in Suffield into 16 apartments, calling it “an adaptive reuse.”

The 12,600-square-foot space is owned by the Sacred Heart Parish Corp. of Suffield.

An effort in Enfield that would have allowed a massive 250-unit, multi-generational affordable housing development on the Felician Sisters campus was halted when a necessary zoning change was denied.

Town officials said the developer could come back with revised plans for that campus. Enfield Director of Development Services Laurie Whitten said from a planning perspective, the town is always seeking diversity in housing, which this plan offered.

The project drew preservation concerns for the historic structures on the campus.

Churches in urban areas are prime locations for new housing developments or urban renewal.

Lexington Partners owner Martin Kenny is leading a $70-million development of 292 apartments at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery convent in West Hartford. The project will transform the existing convent into apartments and add new, adjoining modern buildings with additional units.

The city of Hartford is looking to purchase the Sacred Heart Church at 24 Ely St., for $480,000 as part of a broader redevelopment project.

The church is located near city parks and a planned $17.5-million redevelopment of the Arrowhead Cafe block near Dunkin’ Donuts Park, which will include 43 apartments and about 8,000 square feet of retail space.

The former home of Good New Christian Center at 46 John St., in Wallingford was purchased in June for $1.5 million by Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Specialty Metals Inc.

Built in 1956, the 19,000-square-foot space has a main floor and lower level.

Ulbrich Stainless Steels CEO Chris Ulbrich said the purchase was a matter of location as the property bordered other sites owned by the global company that is headquartered in North Haven.

He has yet to identify a use for the building or property, but all options are on the table, from repurposing, demolition and rebuilding, to putting it back on the market.

The property having been a church building didn’t factor into the decision to purchase.

“When property becomes available, it’s always good business to take a look,” Ulbrich said. The current tenants were given a year to find a new location for their church, at which time Ulbrich will look at the possibilities.

Basquil said each church deal creates unique opportunities for the buyers and developers. A lot of patience along with a great deal of creative vision are a must, but that can lead to the creation of truly unique spaces.