Bought Out of Bankruptcy for $9 Million: A Third Developer Tries to Turn a Landmarked Brooklyn Church Into Homes

• St Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Clinton Hill has been closed for 10 years
• Michael Levy’s firm and a partner bought it out of bankruptcy for $9 million
• The previous owner paid $13.5 million in 2019 before filing for bankruptcy
• The new owner plans a $40 million to $50 million residential conversion

A landmarked Brooklyn church that has defeated two developers is getting a third try, The Real Deal reported in February 2025.

St Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 257 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill has been shut for 10 years. Michael Levy’s Geneva Transatlantic Holdings and Andrew Bradfield’s Orange Management bought it out of bankruptcy for $9 million. The previous owner, Serabjit Singh Malhotra, had paid $13.5 million to Brookland Capital in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy after five years without completing a conversion.

Levy plans to turn the church into apartments or condos, with a project budget of $40 million to $50 million. “I kind of fell in love with the building. When I found out it was for sale, I chased a deal and decided that I wanted to convert it into residential,” he said. He admitted the landmarked building makes it hard: “It’s not straightforward at all. But what I intend to do is restore the rectory building and the church from the outside.” He said he had secured financing from a family office he declined to name.

The story shows how difficult church conversions can be. Heritage protection, structural work and the cost of carving homes out of a sanctuary can defeat even experienced developers, and the price has now fallen by $4.5 million since the last sale.

For buyers, the lesson is to price in planning limits, restoration costs and delays before paying for a church. For congregations, it is a reminder that the value of an old building to a developer depends on what the rules allow, and that selling to the highest bidder does not guarantee the building a future.

Jamaican churches weighing a sale, and diaspora investors eyeing heritage buildings, should take note: get heritage and planning advice early, and treat any conversion budget with caution.

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