The Archdiocese of New York has declared that 12 churches in the city are no longer sacred, meaning they could be sold in the near future.
The churches are located throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, and the Archdiocese says they can now be used for “profane, but not sordid” purposes, DNAinfo reported.
Several churches on the list have been closed since the Catholic church restructured its parishes around 2015, and a $7 million deal for one church — the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz at 378 Broome Street — is already in place. No other churches have pending deals in place, and the individual parishes will determine what to do with the sites. Some Catholics hope to see their former churches repurposed as buildings to serve the poor.
One building on the list — the Church of All Saints at East 129th Street and Madison Avenue — is landmarked, but other churches lost their bids for this designation, such as the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary at 211 East 83rd Street.
Shuttered churches have previously fetched large price tags on the open market. In 2012, developer Douglas Steiner paid $41 million for 438 East 12th Street, which he purchased from the Mary Help of Christians church and turned into a condominium complex. Additionally, in November, hotelier Jeffrey Dagowitz paid $50.4 million for a trio of Chelsea properties that included the Church of St. Vincent de Paul. [DNAinfo] –Eddie Small