The Sunday Mail
As a record US$1 billion worth of religious-affiliated properties were sold across the United States in 2014 due to high maintenance costs and declining membership, some churches are now choosing to redevelop their properties through profitable deals with real estate investment companies in an effort to improve their financial security.
Citing data provided by CoStar Group, a provider of commercial real estate data, a Wall Street Journal report said a record 1,502 sales of religious-affiliated properties valued at US$1.3 billion were sold in 2014.
This is nearly twice the 889 sales made in 2010 valued at US$578.9 million. According to the journal, a growing number of these churches, like The Collegiate Churches of New York, have been partnering with real-estate development companies to develop properties to generate revenue.
The church announced two weeks ago that it had entered into an agreement with New York-based HFZ Capital Group to develop a mixed-use building in Manhattan on land once owned by the Marble Collegiate Church. —The Christian Post
