54,000 Square Feet and a 200-Foot Spire: Cleveland’s ‘Holy Oil Can’ Church Goes on the Market

• Church in the Circle, a Methodist congregation in Cleveland’s University Circle, has put its 1928 building up for sale.
• The building covers 54,081 square feet on 1.64 acres at 1919 E. 107th St.; Cuyahoga County assesses it at $2,445,500.
• The listing agent said the sale is due to maintenance costs and declining membership.
• The church, nicknamed the ‘Holy Oil Can’ for its spire, was declared a Cleveland Landmark in 2013.

One of Cleveland’s best-known church landmarks is for sale. NEOtrans reported that Church in the Circle, known locally as the ‘Holy Oil Can’, has been listed.

The building at 1919 E. 107th St. in the University Circle district was built in 1928, making it 97 years old, and has a 200-foot spire. It covers 54,081 square feet on 1.64 acres, and Cuyahoga County assesses the property at $2,445,500. Howard Hanna Commercial Real Estate is handling the sale; no asking price was published.

The congregation was formerly Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church and later University Circle United Methodist Church, with origins dating to 1831. First United Methodist Church merged with Epworth-Euclid in 2009. The nickname comes from the spire’s resemblance to the design of oil cans when the church was built. City Council declared the building a Cleveland Landmark in 2013.

Julie Sabroff, managing director at Howard Hanna, said: “The owner is selling the property due to the cost of maintaining the building in the face of declining membership.”

Large, landmark churches can become too costly for the congregations that inherit them, even after mergers. A building of more than 54,000 square feet in a prominent district may interest institutions or developers, but landmark status may limit what can change. Jamaican churches with large historic buildings should understand how heritage rules affect what buyers can do, since this can shape the price and the pool of interested buyers. Congregations should also get independent valuations and consider whether a sale, a partnership or a shared-use arrangement best serves both the building and their ministry.

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