Another New York City church may soon be on the arduous path to redevelopment as a sale hangs in the balance.
Kahen Development Group, an affiliate of Kahen Properties, agreed to purchase the Holy Rosary Church at 433 East 119th Street in East Harlem for $5 million, Gothamist reported. The sale is pending approval from the state court due to the laws around selling religious sites.
The sale of the 13,000-square-foot church and adjoining rectory also includes 4,900 square feet of air rights. The property, which is in complete disrepair with a crumbling stairwell, was decommissioned by the Archdiocese of New York in 2017.
For Kahen, the beauty of the 124-year-old property is likely in its development potential — the lot is on a block zoned for residential buildings.
Kahen did not respond to Gothamist’s request for comment, while Ariel Property Advisors declined to comment while guiding the Archdiocese through the sale.
A previous attempt to sell the building fell apart because of the steep cost of repair. This year, a developer affiliated with the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art planned to buy the building and turn it into a museum, only to balk at a $44 million construction repair estimate.
Church sales are seemingly popping up more often in New York as the developers seek sites for housing and religious organizations try to shore up their financial spreadsheets.
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Chelsea’s St. Columba Roman Catholic Church was listed for sale this month, marketed as a potential residential conversion. The archdiocese is also in contract to sell a shuttered church site in the East Village to Spatial Equity and Community Access for a minimum of $58 million; the developers want to build more than 500 affordable housing units on the site.
Kahen filed plans last year for a 24-story, 81-unit property at 1026 Third Avenue in Lenox Hill.