Archdiocese Selling Another Housing Conversion Candidate

The Archdiocese of New York is continuing to winnow down its real estate portfolio.

The Roman Catholic Church agreed to sell the Roman Catholic Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory the Great at 200 West 97th Street on the Upper West Side, the Commercial Observer reported. The deal is expected to close in the spring, but will need court approval.

The contracted buyers are the Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group, which are paying $96 million for the property. They plan to preserve the church and rectory, but convert other parts of the facility into housing.

The developers will take advantage of the 485x tax abatement program, which mandates 25 percent of the units built to be affordable. The amount of units set to be developed, however, was not disclosed. The project is also expected to have residential amenities and retail space.

This is just the latest example of the church shrinking its portfolio, partially in an effort to compensate victims of abuse from the clergy; in December, Cardinal Timothy Dolan told parishioners that the church would keep liquidating real estate to fill a widening financial hole tied to settlements.

At that time, the Archdiocese agreed to sell the ground lease under the Lotte New York Palace for $490 million to the luxury hotel operator.

In July, the church unloaded its longtime headquarters at 1011 First Avenue to Vanbarton Group for $103 million; Vanbarton plans to convert the office tower to residential.

An Archdiocese spokesperson said the 1011 First Avenue proceeds could also be routed toward the global settlement as the Church continues to mine its portfolio to meet obligations.

Atlas Capital is off to a busy start this year, having recently purchased the 13-story, 130-unit former “Red Square” multifamily rental building at 250 East Houston Street for $112 million from Dermot Company and Rockwood Capital.

Meanwhile, the Rockefeller Group recently expanded into the Pacific Northwest with the acquisition of a new 187,000-square-foot warehouse.

— Holden Walter-Warner