Good News: Shut-Down Church Converted to Useful Purpose

[MineralMan]

With churches being shut down for many reasons, including shrinking congregations, what to do with empty church buildings is a problem for many cities. In Hartford, CT, one such closed church is getting new life through conversion to a senior citizen's center. Perhaps this example of re-use will be the salvation of other church buildings that no longer serve a useful purpose in communities everywhere.

http://www.courant.com/community/east-hartford/hc-news-east-hartford-church-sale-20180214-story.html

East Hartford Council Approves Buying Former Church For Senior Center Conversion

Finding that a former church offers a blank slate for renovations, the town council voted unanimously to buy the building for conversion to a senior center.

The price for the former Blessed Sacrament Church was $900,000. The town has until March 16 to back out of the deal, but no environmental problems or other red flags have emerged that would prevent the purchase, council Chairman Rich Kehoe said Wednesday.

{snip}

As part of a reorganization, the Archdiocese of Hartford closed Blessed Sacrament last year, merging the congregation with St. Christopher and Our Lady of Peace to form St. Edmund Campion Parish. The church was built in 1975 on a 1.88-acre lot, and the property is valued at about $1.55 million, according to assessor's records.

Voters approved spending $5 million in 2016 "for the planning, design, acquisition, construction and/or renovation of a senior center/multipurpose facility." That money was to be focused on renovating the current senior center on Canterbury Street, but town leaders later said it also could be used for the church conversion project.

[TlalocW]

1. Someone should turn one into a dining establishment

And name it Alice's Restaurant.

TlalocW

[MineralMan]

2. That's actually a pretty common conversion.

You can find examples at this Google search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=church+converted+to+restaurant

The open nature of the building lends itself to such a re-use, once the church is shuttered due to failure to thrive.

Here's one in Maine:

[msongs]

3. wonder how much in taxes property or otherwise that church paid since being built nt

[MineralMan]

4. Good question. I don't know.

I do know that property used for church worship and other programs are exempt from property taxes. Of course, they expect all of the services of their jurisdiction. They just don't pay for them.

That's something I'd like to see end, for sure. Why are they exempt?