Trammell Crow Co.'s Specialty Brokerage Group, which isgenerating new sales leads abroad for church-owned land in the US,handled the transaction. Based on the amount of land alone, thesales price equates to $439,850 per acre or about $10.09 per sf.Area brokers tell GlobeSt.com those sort of prices are generallyrecorded for premium retail locations, not for church land inoutlying metro areas.

Based on the building's size, however, the price comes out to$66.08 per sf, considered to be the current estimated replacementcost for a comparable structure. "Despite the language andgeographic barriers, we were able to negotiate terms that satisfiedboth parties; mediate the sale; and ensure all proper documentationwas in place," says Matthew Messier who negotiated the deal for thechurch with Trammell Crow broker Nicholas McKinney.

"When looking at a church transaction, you have to look atsanctuary capacity, parking, amenities and related factors,"McKinney tells GlobeSt.com. "In addition, the buyer came fromoutside the local market and is going to establish a 'destinationchurch' which will pull an audience from a much further distance."The broker adds, "With a sales price of $585,000, the propertytraded for $66 per sf, which is a fair market price for a veryfunctional facility."