{"id":271277,"date":"2026-06-18T21:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271277\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T21:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:07:28","slug":"episcopal-church-seeks-to-offload-manhattan-headquarters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271277\/","title":{"rendered":"Episcopal Church seeks to offload Manhattan headquarters"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leonardo Blair<\/a>, Senior Reporter Thursday, June 18, 2026\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"Twitter\"<\/a>\"TheThe Episcopal Church’s Church Center building at 815 Second Avenue in Manhattan, N.Y. | Screenshot\/Google Maps<\/p>\n

After decades of deliberations about relocating from their midtown Manhattan headquarters in New York City, the Episcopal Church is now looking to offload the nearly $52 million<\/a> property at 815 2nd Avenue through a long-term ground lease with a group that would redevelop the 12-story building into affordable housing.<\/p>\n

A ground lease agreement typically allows tenants to rent land from the property owner for a period of 99 years or more<\/a>. In the case of the Episcopal Church, which also owns the large building on the land, the tenant would own all improvements to the building. If the lease expires without renewal, ownership of the building could revert to the church, and the development group would have no claim to the property.<\/p>\n

The Episcopal Church\u2019s chief financial officer, Chris Lacovara, said in a statement<\/a> that the building is currently underutilized and a ground lease to a third-party developer would fulfill a decades-old desire of church leaders to relocate from the 63-year-old building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a detailed analysis about the best use of the building, with consultants and architects,\u201d Lacovara said. \u201cWe occupy a fraction of the Church Center space now, and the conclusion is that we don\u2019t need to own and occupy a building in midtown Manhattan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lacovara said the 146,000-square-foot Church Center building was\u00a0completed in 1963<\/a> for $4 million. The building, which was formally dedicated on April 29 that year, provided office space for 500 staff and all official church bodies and cooperating agencies. \u00a0<\/p>\n

With many of the Church Center employees now living and working across multiple locations in the U.S. and Europe, the denomination occupies less than half of the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cDioceses and congregations throughout The Episcopal Church are looking at real estate as a missional asset, and we need to think about the Church Center in the same way,\u201d Lacovara said. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that the decision to market the building, and the process we went through leading up to it, will encourage others to think carefully about how best to steward underutilized buildings and land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Denham Wolf Real Estate Services<\/a> will lead the marketing of the building located a block from the United Nations and two blocks from Grand Central Station.<\/p>\n

Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost<\/a><\/p>\n