Remember earlier this week when we updated you about Saint Matt's on Grays Ferry, and shared the good news (to us at least) that the church's conversion into thirty-eight apartments was nearing completion? Today we look at another former church nearby, at 810 S. 23rd St., though this one is quite a bit smaller than the former Saint Matt's.
It's possible that you remember that we actually wrote about this building once before. Way back in the fall of 2011, we trumpeted the fact that the building, which actually has most of its frontage on a bucolic Madison Square garden block, was for sale. Back then, we speculated that the building, built in 1911, would make a superior single-family home, and secretly dreamed of opening up our own microbrewery in the building. We also thought that condos could work. And condos are exactly what we're gonna get.
The interestingly named Auto Source Export Inc bought the property at the end of last year and went before SOSNA a few months ago with plans to turn the building into two residential units. One of the units will have its entrance on 23rd Street, while the other will enter on Madison Square. The facades will largely remain intact, though you can bet they'll be cleaned up significantly.
Earlier this month, the project received approvals from the ZBA. This means that it should only be a matter of time before construction is underway. Hopefully, with this project joining the Saint Matt's project, developers will see that redeveloping churches in this neighborhood is a viable business model. Heaven knows, the area needs different kinds of housing that just new construction luxury homes.