Calvary Baptist Church Leases Space Inside Upper West Side Synagogue
By Rebecca Baird-Remba December 13, 2023 12:06 pm
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Calvary Baptist Church, which had its longtime home on West 57th Street demolished for a luxury residential building, will rent space at SAJ, a synagogue at 15 West 86th Street, for services and programming while its new chapel is being built.
The church took 17,814 square feet at the synagogue, of which 5,488 square feet will be shared between the two organizations, according to SAJ’s broker Denham Wolf Real Estate Services.
The 2.25-year-long agreement encompasses multiple spaces at SAJ, including nine classrooms, two large multipurpose rooms, and six office and reception areas.
The two congregations hope to be able to partner on programming and help each other with operations. Neither side of the deal disclosed asking rent for the space.
“We are thrilled to welcome Calvary Baptist Church and their congregation to our synagogue building, and we look forward to working with them and sharing our space over the coming years,” said Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann of SAJ.
Lauren Davis, Cameron Tuttle and Christopher Turner of Denham Wolf represented SAJ in the transaction, and Stephen Sunderland of Optimal Spaces handled the deal on behalf of Calvary Baptist Church.
“By finding SAJ a short-term tenant and providing Calvary Baptist Church’s congregation a perfect home while their church is rebuilt, this lease keeps both organizations on the path toward achieving their missions,” said Davis, who noted that Denham Wolf will help SAJ look for a longer-term tenant to step in after Calvary leaves.
Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners, along with Cain International, are developing a 440-foot-tall, 26-story mixed-use tower on the site of the former church at 125 West 57th Street.
As part of construction, Alchemy-ABR will set aside 47,436 square feet on the first six floors of the building for the church and its community center, according to building permits. The remainder of the building will hold 180,000 square feet of office space, including a shared amenity space and outdoor terrace for office tenants on the seventh floor.
Sunderland told Commercial Observer in an email that “it was a match made in heaven.”
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com
