2011年10月23日 星期日

Former churches look for buyers to provide afterlife

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The recent news that Central Presbyterian Church plans to close and put its 151-year-old Downtown building up for sale highlights the fact that churches are bought and sold just like secular buildings as neighborhoods and populations change.

A quick search of central Ohio real-estate listings by NAI Ohio Equities last week showed dozens of churches for sale, from large, historic stone structures to modest brick buildings dating from the 1950s.

Churches can offer dramatic, beautiful architecture in highly visible urban locations, but they also can pose unusual challenges.

“Adding a commercial kitchen and restrooms and creating a flow for the restaurant; it’s all a little tricky in an older structure like this, but I think the benefits outweigh the downside,” said Kamal Boulos, owner of the Refectory restaurant, which has occupied a former church building on Bethel Road on the Northwest Side for 35years.

“I think we have a physical facility that’s very unique; it’s a tremendous asset,” Boulos said.

Still, he’s not rushing to try to replicate the restaurant’s success. “We’ve been contacted by real-estate agents over the years wanting to know if we’re interested in buying another church. I guess they figure, you did it once, you’d want to do it again,” Boulos said.

In 2006, investors bought a historic former Baptist church Downtown on Broad Street, with a deal to lease it out for use as a nightclub and restaurant, which opened as the Bar of Modern Art — BOMA. Attorney and developer Bret Adams and his business partners spent $5 million to buy and renovate the property.

“The bones of the building were in good condition, but it was very expensive just to bring it up to code for use as a nightclub,” Adams said. “It had no air conditioning, a very old heating system, and it needed a fire-suppression system.”

The venture was extremely successful at first. “The first New Year’s Eve, the operator was carrying trash bags of cash out of the building,” Adams said. “It was off the hook.”

But as the novelty wore off and the recession hit, the business faltered. Adams said the investors realized they needed a “multi-use” model, not just a restaurant and nightclub in the building.

A year ago, BOMA changed to the Bluestone and became a special-event and concert space. Adams said the venue is successful, attracting concerts, fundraisers and weddings.

“It’s a great aesthetic project, and it’s great for Downtown,” Adams said.

“I just wish we’d been more proactive about changing the model earlier.”

In the community of Linworth on the Northwest Side, Gary Friedlinghaus, owner of the Village Bookstore on W.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, Dublin-Granville Road,we supply all kinds of polished tiles, has had a good 30-year run in his building, which previously had been a church. Customers frequently say they’ve stopped in because “they’ve passed by the store for years and always wanted to come in,” Friedlinghaus said.

Although Friedlinghaus continues to buy stock and run the business, he decided to list the building for sale three years ago. NAI Ohio Equities has the property listed for a bit less than $1.2million.

“There’s lots of interest in the property,” Friedlinghaus said. “A lot of people dream about things they want to do, but reality is different than dreaming,” he said.

Friedlinghaus said he’d like to see someone keep the building intact. Ideally,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. a buyer might want to stay in the book business — although he acknowledges that’s unlikely, given the trend away from bookstores.

He said he’s also had casual conversations with people about turning the building into a restaurant, and — ironically — a church. “But nothing has come of it yet,” he added.

James Wilson, an attorney who heads the commission charged with closing and selling the Central Presbyterian Church building, has retained RS Garek Associates to list the property. As of last week, an asking price hadn’t been determined.

Wilson said he hopes the church could have a future as a performance space because it’s been used frequently for concerts.

He acknowledged, though, that it could take a good deal of money to get the building up to code for that purpose,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. and parking could be an issue.

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