Old parish properties in St. Louis Archdiocese have new owners, uses

Published: 2007-03-27

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- When the Archdiocese of St. Louis put the real estate property of 20 closed parishes up for sale, with the proceeds to follow members of those closed locations to their new parish homes, the goal was to find the right buyers for the buildings. But the properties in the urban South St. Louis Deanery and the suburban Northeast St. Louis County Deanery were quite dissimilar, so two different commercial real estate agencies -- each with expertise particular to the type of properties to be sold -- were chosen to market them. "A number of the parishes in North County were built in the '50s and '60s," said Thomas Richter, director of the archdiocesan Office of Building and Real Estate. "Quite often the churches were in the building that was intended to eventually be transformed into a gym, after a new permanent church was built. That was part of their appeal, since these churches were easily adapted by schools and the smaller Christian church groups." In South St. Louis, some church buildings have been sold to other denominations. Other properties are being used for different -- but church-approved -- uses, including an advertising agency and a band headquarters. Proceeds from the sale of the closed parish properties exceeded $20 million, Richter said.

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