CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese of New York is nearing the completion of a $5 million sale of the historic yet heavily deteriorated Holy Rosary Church in East Harlem to Kahen Development Group.
The Gothamist reported that the Romanesque Revival church has stood since 1900, although it has fallen into severe disrepair in recent decades. The church was decommissioned in 2017 after the parish merged with the Church of Saint Paul, just a few blocks away.
The sale, which includes 4,930 square feet of “air rights,” is pending final approval from the state court due to the property’s religious status.
According to the Gothamist report, court documents reveal that a previous plan to convert the church into a museum was abandoned due to the high cost of repairs, estimated at $44 million, and that Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York previously cited these costly repairs as a key reason for the sale. The Archbishop noted that all sacred objects, such as relics and stained-glass windows, would be preserved by the Catholic Church.
The Gothamist reported that the Church, which has been there since before the New York subway lines were built, is in a block zoned for residential buildings, leading to theories that the church will be demolished and apartments will be constructed in its place.
