The saga of the closed Clinton Hill church at 257 Washington Ave continues, with the property trading hands once more amid an ongoing struggle to convert the historic site into housing. Geneva Transatlantic Holdings and Orange Management, both New York-based firms, have completed the purchase for $9 million, according to a deed noted in Crain's New York. This deal represents the third change of hands for the property within six years after previous redevelopment plans have failed to materialize.
Prior to the latest sale, developer Serabjit Singh Malhotra had ownership of the site, having bought it from Brookland Capital for $13.5 million in 2019, at the time when Brookland was offloading properties because of financial strain that, along with the COVID-19 pandemic stalling construction and impacting Singh's ability to generate rental income from other assets, which led to the church landing back on the market as Singh filed for bankruptcy, as The Real Deal reported.
The neo-Gothic church, which shut its doors in 2014 and its adjacent buildings, sit within the borders of the Clinton Hill Historic District, meaning that any modification must gain approval from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. This regulatory step adds complexity to the conversion process—a critical point that has potentially contributed to the property's tumultuous history. Michael Levy of Geneva Transatlantic Holdings has expressed intentions to convert the space into residential use, while also planning to restore the church’s window and facade, though he has yet to decide whether these would be rentals or condos, he told Crain's New York.
Despite the ownership changes and past development obstacles the site continues to attract interest, due in part to its proximity to the Pratt Institute and its potential of supporting up to 34,000 square feet of development; however, Levy noted that the new designs for the property will be presented to the commission with an anticipated approval within 18 months, followed by a construction period estimated to be an additional 12 to 18 months, in plans that are backed by a U.S.-based family office, whose identity remains undisclosed, according to Levy's statement in Crain's New York.
