Apartment Tower's 'Sky Bridge' May Save Historic Church Next Door

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A landmarked church on South 5th Street has found a creative way to afford repairing its 100-year-old building. St. Paul's Lutheran Church has proposed letting developers next door connect a "sky bridge" to its roof so that it could use their money to finance repairs.

The church, which is a designated landmark, won reluctant approval for the idea this week from the city's Landmark Preservation Commission, Brownstoner reported.

The proposal includes selling the church's "air rights" and access to certain easements so that the developers can build a sky bridge connecting a new rooftop terrace on top of the church to the fourth floor of their residential building. The plans will allow the developers to construct a taller building and give the church enough money to make long-needed repairs, the presentation showed.

"The exterior envelope, in dire need of repair, will be repaired and restored," church leaders told the LPC in a presentation. "The stained-glass windows, currently in poor condition, will be restored and other windows will be replaced. The building will be brought up to code and future maintenance will be funded."

The church, originally created in 1852, has been in its current building since 1920.

Church leaders and members of the parish told Community Board 1 members at an earlier meeting how the money would help revitalize the church and its importance to the community. The repairs will in part return the church to its original structure in 1920, part of which was damaged by a fire in 1944.

Community Board 1 members unanimously agreed to support the proposal.

The proposal would grow the building next door from its current 26,027 square feet to 57,629 square feet. It would stand at 16 stories tall.

The developers, Juda Klein of Parkview Management, purchased the formerly empty lot for $4.7 million in 2013, Brownstoner reported.

Photo provided by the Landmark Preservation Commission presentation.