Part of the debate regarding saving the structures at the former St. Aloysius is what to do with them. As a residential designer and real estate agent I can envision what the end result might look like but for many this is difficult. First, keeping the church, rectory and convent along with some land for garages will require half the site. The remaining half can and should be new construction. This new construction might be all single family homes but it might be some attached townhouses mixed with single family homes.
By my estimation 12 new residences can be built on the western half of the site while 8-12 units can be fitted into the three existing structures on the eastern half of the site. This gives us about the same number of total units as planned with all new residences but with far more character.
I’ve done some internet research and found a number of articles on churches in other cities that have been converted to condos. Below is a sampling of what I found:
NW Arkansas
In 2003, it hosted church services, and a year ago it sat vacant, but now the former St. Joseph’s Catholic Church complex is showing signs of life after its transformation into condominiums.
Denver, CO
The imposing stone church on East 22nd Avenue, made of rhyolite stone from Castlewood Canyon and Colorado red sandstone trim, originally housed a Methodist Episcopal congregation in 1871. Once the tallest building in Denver, a wood spire signaled a holy site, but by the 1990s the church fell on hard times.
Pittsburgh, PA
Architecturally significant, built-to-suit, condos within a historically dedicated former church and rectory. Floor sizes vary from, 1,400 sq ft to 2,600 sq ft. Unfinished prices start at $190,000.
Virginia
The pretty white building certainly looks like a church – it has a traditional steeple, several stained-glass windows, and soaring ceilings. But no longer does it echo with the sounds of worship. Instead, this church has taken on a new life – as a family home.
Baltimore, MD
A Baltimore developer is planning to bring a trend that has been popularized in other cities and other parts of Baltimore to Mt. Vernon, with the redevelopment of the Sharon 7th Day Adventist church at the corner of Calvert and Chase Streets. Baltimore’s Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation gave final approval to developer Peter Sullivan last week to transform the vacant church, built in 1874, into four luxury condos. Each 1,500-square-foot unit will have two bedrooms, and Sullivan said he expects them to sell for more than $500,000 each.
Boston, MA
Developers left the red brick in the rectory and the church’s granite exterior virtually intact, but split the church’s vast interior into five floors, retaining the wooden arches and stained-glass windows while installing stainless steel appliances, Jacuzzi tubs, skylights and granite countertops.
The development team, James and Bernard McFarland, both Catholics, converted the rectory and the church into condos to provide housing in an area of South Boston which has little housing. All eight units in the rectory sold last year, while 28 of the 36 units in the church sold since February this year when a real estate company began actively marketing them.
National
Now, these houses of worship are catching the eye of developers and preservationists.
In urban areas where land is scarce, developers are eager to convert them into condominiums, art galleries, discothèques, restaurants, nursing homes, schools and even single-family homes.
“There is a prestige factor,” says Michael Berkowicz, chairman of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture at the American Institute of Architects. “Sacredness becomes part of the promotion.”
East Milton, MA
It was built in 1846 at 577 Adams Street in the Railway Village (now East Milton) to serve the religious needs of those moving to the area to work in the granite industry. A large Italianate church with a simple belfry, it was built amidst residential housing of Greek Revival through Italianate styles. Today, the former church has been converted to condominiums.
Toronto
The attraction of a conversion is the location, the space and the uniqueness.
Most loft developments occur in industrial buildings located on the city’s fringes. But churches sit in the heart of communities, on leafy lanes and residential streets.
Their size and open design allow developers to carve out multiple level units with towering ceilings and arched windows running the height of the condominium.
Working together we can create both new homes and condos within the existing structures. Such a creative compromise is what the St. Aloysius site is calling out for.
– Steve
