Richmond's vacant churches become real estate opportunity
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Multiple projects are in the works across Richmond to convert churches into housing, event spaces or something else unholy — er, different.
Why it matters: Move over, office-to-apartment flips. Churches might be the next big adaptive reuse building trend in town.
The big picture: Shrinking congregations, aging buildings and a housing crisis are among the issues driving faith groups to unload their underused properties across the country, Bloomberg reports.
Zoom in: In the Fan, a group of friends and neighbors plan to open a multi-use space called 1836 Park in a vacant church at Meadow and Park, BizSense reported last week. It'll serve as a bookstore, coffee shop, day care and event space.
- Built in 1906, the 6,100-square-foot building was used as a house of worship until 2019, when the non-denominational group that owned it moved out.
- The pals behind 1836 Park bought the property earlier this year for $843,000.
In the Near West End, local developer Macfarlane Partners recently applied for a special use permit to convert a church at 4101 Grove Ave. into 72 townhomes and condos, per BizSense.
- The church solicited proposals last year for a developer to take over the 75-year-old Seventh Street Christian Church building, hoping some of it could be preserved.
- The developer plans to keep the sanctuary but demolish the rest.
In Church Hill, just down the road from Jefferson Park, the old Great Hope Baptist Church and its parking lots sold last month for $2.15 million to local developer Matt Jarreau, BizSense reported.
- Jarreau planned to turn the site into townhomes, but he's since re-listed the property for $1.25 million, marketing it as possible apartments, an event space or a coworking hub.
Meanwhile, preservationists this month won their years-long fight to save a 119-year-old church next to The Jefferson Hotel from demolition.
- Owned by the same group that owns the hotel, initial plans called for the structure to be razed to make way for more hotel parking.
- Now, the former Second Baptist Church will be preserved, upgraded and used as a banquet hall.
Zoom out: Faith groups are also turning parts of their properties into housing across the region.
- In Chesterfield, Village of Faith Ministries has been working to build at least 100 units at the site of its movie theater-turned-church near Hull and Genito.
- And St. Elizabeth Catholic Church on Northside started work last month on dozens of apartments earmarked for low-income locals on vacant land behind its church, per WWBT.