The historic Boerum Hill church, damaged by fire in 2010, may be headed for new ownership.
DUMBO-based real estate development company Tankhouse and Downtown Brooklyn-based Lonicera are entering a $28.25 million contract to purchase the property, according to the Brooklyn Eagle and Brownstoner.
The sale still requires approval from the New York attorney general because the property belongs to a religious corporation, and could remove a prominent piece of Brooklyn's architectural history. The congregation dates to 1823, while the current Romanesque Revival church was designed by Weary & Kramer and built in 1893-94.
The two-story church, now home to Next Step Community Church, stands at the corner of Schermerhorn Street and Third Avenue near the Flatbush Avenue corridor.
Its rusticated brick, brownstone and terracotta exterior includes gabled pavilions, stained-glass windows and distinctive corner towers. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but does not have individual New York City landmark designation.
Since the fire in 2010, the congregation has continued operating community programs from the building, including a food pantry, soup kitchen, clothing distribution, holiday meals, child care assistance and social services.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy also awarded the church a Sacred Sites grant in 2022.
The developers' plans for the property have not been publicly detailed. Brownstoner, citing court documents, reported that Tankhouse intends to demolish the fire-damaged structure, while the Brooklyn Eagle reported that neither the buyers nor the congregation had announced specific redevelopment plans.
The congregation plans to continue its community work at a new location. If the sale receives the required approval, the church's future will become part of the broader redevelopment reshaping the Boerum Hill, Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn area.
