Run-Down Boerum Hill Church Sold to Private Firm for $20 Million
The Church of the Redeemer, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street, in Boerum Hill, was sold this month to the Jackson Group, a private real estate investment firm based in Manhattan, for $20 million. The building had been owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, which had announced demolition plans in 2012, and explained this month’s sale as owing to a rise in monthly expenses that far outpaced its current membership and fund-raising ability.
No details have been revealed yet on the Jackson Group’s plan for the building, DNAinfo reports, but it’s probably not crazy to wonder whether the Church of the Redeemer may go the way of the St. Vincent de Paul Church in Williamsburg, which are now renting as the Spire Lofts.
I haven’t yet seen a New York Times trendpiece on Brooklyn church-dwelling, but the rate at which these conversions are happening certainly seems trendpiece-worthy. And while it’s sad to see beautiful public spaces “go condo,” it’s nicer than seeing them demolished. Fingers crossed that the Church of the Redeemer will be spared the wrecking ball.
Follow John Sherman on Twitter @_john_sherman.