CSC Real Estate In Contract to Buy Episcopal Church’s Manhattan HQ
By Emily Davis November 12, 2026 4:41 pm
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CSC Real Estate, a New York-based investment firm specializing in residential conversions, is in contract to buy the Episcopal Church’s decades-old Manhattan headquarters.
A spokesperson for CSC confirmed the pending transaction at 815 Second Avenue, known as the Episcopal Church Center, although the financial terms and the developer’s plans for the site were not disclosed. The Real Deal first reported news of the in-contract deal.
In June, church leaders began testing the waters for a sale of the property, located at the corner of Second Avenue and East 43rd Street. The landlord tapped Denham Wolf Real Estate Services to market the 12-story building. A spokesperson for Denham declined to comment on the deal.
The building’s current status as a largely vacant office building makes it a prime candidate for CSC’s portfolio of office-to-residential conversion projects.
The developers recently secured financing to reposition a Midtown East office property at 136 East 57th Street into luxury apartments, CO reported in October, and in April secured a construction loan for an office-to-residential conversion at 770 Second Avenue in Murray Hill. A Lower Manhattan conversion at CSC’s 75 Maiden Lane and 13 Gold Street assemblage, acquired for $45.2 million in October 2025, is ongoing.
The Episcopal Church has called 815 Second Avenue home since the building’s completion in the 1960s, according to The Washington Post. Church leadership began contemplating its sale in 2012, citing plans to relocate their HQ. Post-pandemic remote work policies have left the building largely vacant.
“We occupy a fraction of the Church Center space now, and the conclusion is that we don’t need to own and occupy a building in Midtown Manhattan,” Chris Lacovara, the church’s chief financial officer, said in a recent statement.
The church plans to continue operations on one floor of the building until it finds a new headquarters, TRD reported, citing the Episcopal News Service.
Emily Davis can be reached at edavis@commercialobserver.com.
