Watermark Capital Agrees to Buy Fort Greene Church

Watermark Capital Group is returning to the altar once more.

Wolfe Landau’s firm agreed to pay $15 million for Brooklyn’s Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church at 144 Saint Felix Street in Fort Greene, PincusCo reported. The sale is yet to be finalized, as church sales require approval from the state, typically the New York Supreme Court.

The sale is expected to close within 75 days of court approval. Watermark was required to pay a $13 million deposit upon signing the contract.

Watermark’s plans for the property aren’t clear, but it seems unlikely the firm was simply looking for a place to pray. That wouldn’t even be possible without significant renovations, as the church is in a state of disrepair and has multiple violations. Congregants have already shifted to another site, according to Crain’s.

But the site does have more than 164,000 square feet of development rights, giving Watermark some room to expand on the 65,000-square-foot structure. The block was recently rezoned for residential, commercial and community use.

Watermark did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Real Deal. The attorney representing the church told Crain’s there would be a community benefit to the site. Often that means a community facility, which allows for extra square footage.

This isn’t the first time in recent years that Watermark has gone to church. Late last year, the firm paid $12.3 million for St. Lucy’s-St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church on Willoughby Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The developer immediately demolished part of the site, reportedly to make way for housing.

Watermark was also one of the developers behind a residential conversion project at 321 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, on leased land owned by the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church.

— Holden Walter-Warner