BOSTON-Nearly half of all the properties sold off by the Archdiocese of Boston since 2003 have been converted into housing, including two unused cemeteries that were sold off to development groups earlier this year. According to statistics from the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds, 47% of the church properties were turned into single or multifamily homes, 10% were converted for school use, 4% were turned into businesses and 8% were resold to other religious organizations for use as churches. In addition, 31% of the properties were designated for other uses, the figures show.
The Archdiocese has been selling off the properties as part of a consolidation of unused and underutilized buildings. It is expected to take in at least $200 million from the deals, including the $99 million earned from the sale of the Cardinal's residence and the adjoining acreage which was sold off earlier this year.
Recently, the Archdiocese sold off a portfolio of seven church-owned buildings in Chelsea, totaling 60,000 sf to Chelsea Residential Group LLC for $3.3 million. Among those properties were four buildings totaling 25,164 sf owned by Our Lady of Assumption Parish, including the church, a school and the parish's former rectory and convent. St. Stanislaus School and convent and St. Rose of Lima convent, were also part of that sale. Tom Truong, with Chelsea Residential Group, tells GlobeSt.com that all seven properties will be converted into affordable housing for first time Chelsea buyers at prices that start at around $240,000 per unit.
In Norwood, Karsten Co. of East Weymouth is planning a multimillion-dollar project to convert St. George's Church on St. James Street along with an adjacent rectory and convent into 15 one- and two-bedroom condominiums. The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp. spent months lobbying the Archdiocese before it purchased Blessed Sacrament Church, a 115-year-old landmark located between Jackson and Hyde squares in Jamaica Plain, along with four additional buildings, including the church's convent, for $6 million. That property will also be converted into condominiums and apartments.
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