And no, we’re not talking about Greater Saint Matt’s.

Back in April, a developer (we’re not sure who) came before the ZBA with a proposal to convert the historic church at 626 N 21st St. into eight residential units. Near neighbors objected, citing a lack of parking and outdoor space, and stating a preference for fewer units.

The church

According to the Spring Garden Civic’s May newsletter, when faced with opposition from the community, the developer went to the Historical Commission to receive permission to tear down 25% of the rear of the building to create enough open space to allow eleven units by right. Additional opposition at the Historical Commission resulted in a denial of that request, and the ZBA ultimately denied the application altogether. There’s a sense that the developer may appeal.

We won’t pretend we fully understand the dynamics of this immediate area, but we’d be interested to know how many units the neighborhood would have supported in this adaptive reuse. Five? Two? Just one? With an internal square footage that comes in at nearly 4,500sqft, it seems like four units could be the right number for this location. If the developer walks away, would that mean that the church would go back on the market, listed in the mid-$700’s? At that price, will any developer, or religious group step up to the plate?

Old, still vacant Mugshots is right next door

We’ll keep an eye on this site, and provide updates if anything interesting or exciting happens.