Potential Buyer Unveils Renovation Plans for New Hope Baptist Church

A Brookline couple has signed a letter of intent to purchase the with plans to convert the building into eight residential condominiums.

Michael Minkoff and his wife are hoping to renovate the interior of the Tremont Street church, which is currently home to the New Hope Baptist Congregation. The mammoth stone building has for six months.

On Tuesday, Minkoff’s attorney and architect presented preliminary plans for an adaptive reuse of the building to the South End Landmark District Commission. The team’s current proposal is to create seven 2-story townhouse units within the main sanctuary and parish hall portions of the church and one larger unit along the West Concord Street side that would become the Minkoffs’ new home.

The exterior of the building would be largely preserved under the proposal with the exception of some of the windows, which would be converted to a rectangular shape in order to satisfy code regulations, said architect Gary Hendren. Two dormer windows would also be added to the roof facing Tremont Street. The New Hope Congregation plans to take all stained glass windows with them to their new location, he added.

As part of the proposed renovation both spires and clocks would be restored, the stone walls would be washed and the alleyway behind the building would be resurfaced, Hendren added.

“The stone probably hasn’t been cleaned in the past 100 years,” he said. “There’s quite a bit of maintenance that needs to be done.”

New Hope Congregation Moving On

Costly maintenance is one of the reasons the New Hope Congregation is selling the church, said Church Trustee Maurice Cottman. Along with parking issues, the congregation is worried about the cost of keeping up the massive building, he said.

“We are concerned that the maintenance of the building has become more of a challenge,” he said. “It’s getting increasingly more difficult.”

The New Hope Baptist Congregation has called the South End home for over 70 years, purchasing the Tremont Street church in 1968 for $160,000. Since then, a slew of repairs have been made to the building, including all new windows, doors, flooring and a new roof.

At present, the congregation does not have firm plans for its new location, but is looking for a space that will satisfy its parking needs, Cottman said. Church members voted to place the building on the market in 2005.

“We’re in a position now where we have someone who is interested for the first time,” Cottman said on Tuesday. “Our challenge is primarily to find a good home.”

The church building, along with the 14,847-square-foot lot it sits on, was last assessed at $4.3 million, according to the city's assessment database. On nearby Columbus Ave, the slightly smaller sold to a private developer in 2007 for just over $3 million and is being converted into luxury condominiums.

Neighbors Have Mixed Feelings

Neighbor Brian Marsh spoke in support of the renovations on Tuesday night, emphasizing the importance of preserving the historic structure before it deteriorates any further.  

“This is one of two gems left in the neighborhood,” he said, referring to the Ebenezer Baptist Church on West Springfield Street. “Maintaining this with an owner that is living there is going to be an amazing addition to the neighborhood.”

Neighbors Rochelle and Kenneth Shaw felt differently. Both were baptized in the church and attend services there. When the congregation moves, they won’t be able to follow.

“It’s a shame,” said Rochelle. “They’re making God angry and they’re making me upset.”

Landmarks Commission Raises Concerns

For the Landmarks Commission, which would need to approve all exterior renovations in order for permits to be awarded, elements of Tuesday’s presentation were tough to swallow. In particular, members pointed to window changes and a walled terrace proposed along the West Concord Street boundary - historically the building’s main entrance.

“I’m a little dismayed at the loss of the steps,” said Commission member John Amodeo. “The story of the building should not be lost in the adaptive reuse and the fact that the main entrance used to be there should still read. Once you close that off with a walled terrace, that story gets lost.”

Commission member John Freeman also expressed concern with plans to replace arched windows with rectangular ones. Removing elements from the building would go against the Commission’s regulations, he said.

 “If there’s a way to use added elements to solve the problem, that’s easier for us to approve,” he said. “From a historic preservation standpoint, it means that we’re retaining more elements, which are part of the history of the church.”

Not A Done Deal

Minkoff has yet to sign a purchase and sale agreement on the property, meeting with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Landmark Commission first to determine the feasibility of renovations, according to attorney Marc LaCasse, who is representing Minkoff.

If the deal goes through, the South End would gain a neighbor with 40 years of development experience, he stressed on Tuesday. Minkoff founded National Development Corp. in Washington D.C. and is known for his renovation of historic residences in Paris and London, LaCasse said. A current Brookline resident, Minkoff also designed a home for actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

“This project is not only a development [opportunity] for him, it is also going to be home for [him] and his wife,” LaCasse said.