Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The time is ticking for a number of catholic churches in Western New York to close by mid-July, or announce alternative plans as the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo announced their opening rounds in downsizing operations that will leave 34% of the parishes across the region merged with other churches, inevitably leaving over 60 of their worship sites vacant.
What will become of the churches when they are eventually sold?
Hunt Real Estate Chairman and CEO Peter Hunt notes that the most likely successful outcome for developers is turning the churches into residential properties.
"The way churches sit on their parcels, it doesn't really lend itself to retail. Maybe one or two of the churches might lend themselves to that kind of thing. They might, and I'm saying might, lend themselves to some kind of office use, or some other commercial use. But right now, there is a huge amount of what I think will be ultimately unused office space and commercial space throughout this entire country," said Hunt in an interview with WBEN. "I don't think we need more of it right now. So, the bottom line for me is that the successful projects will be largely residential."
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A recent example of a converted church in Buffalo that Hunt mentions is the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church located on the corner of Hoyt Street and Bird Avenue, which was converted into condominiums.
Hunt says there are developers in Buffalo who specialize in converting old church buildings, but very few. It may take several years before plans and developers purchase property and develop plans.
Hunt advises the Diocese to be strategic in their listings, and not put their properties on the market all at once.
"One of the problems is when you have that many buildings coming on the market at almost the same time, it does create a market value problem. I certainly hope that they don't do it all at once, and that they phase it in over a period of time so that the market can absorb what they do put on the market and the market will absorb them," Hunt said.
Another possible idea for the buildings would be keeping them as houses of worship, but for different religions. Many reports suggest the Muslim population is growing rapidly in the United States, and there have been a few plans to convert churches into mosques in Buffalo. A relatively recent example being plans to convert St. Ann's at Broadway and Emslie Street.
And although the churches themselves haven't officially come onto the market just yet, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo have recently been putting some of their properties on the market with Hanna Commercial Real Estate, including the Catholic Center itself on Main Street, Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, The Newman Center and Buffalo State College and most recently the St. Jude Center at 760 Ellicott St., near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
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