A $96 Million Deal for a Manhattan Parish: The Church Stays, and Homes Rise Beside It

• The Roman Catholic Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory, at 200 West 97th Street, has agreed a $96 million sale.
• The buyers are a joint venture of Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group.
• A mixed-income building with 25 per cent affordable units will replace the old school and convent.
• The church and rectory stay, and the parish gets about 9,500 square feet of new space.

A Catholic parish on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has agreed a deal that keeps its church while turning part of its land into housing. The West Side Rag reported that the Church of Holy Name of Jesus and Saint Gregory is selling for $96 million.

The parish is at 200 West 97th Street, on Amsterdam Avenue. The buyers are a joint venture of Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital Group, with closing expected in spring 2026.

Under the plan, a mixed-income residential building will replace the old school and convent, with 25 per cent of the units affordable and the rest at market rate, plus retail space on Amsterdam Avenue. The church and rectory will stay standing, and the parish will get about 9,500 square feet of space for classes, meetings and community outreach. The developers said: “We are proud to partner in delivering much‑needed housing” to the neighbourhood.

The project qualifies for tax abatements under a programme that requires developers to set aside a share of units for lower-income residents.

This is a model many Jamaican churches with large town sites could study: sell or develop the under-used parts of a property, such as an old school or a convent, while keeping the church itself. The value comes from location and from housing demand, and a well-structured deal can give the congregation new space as well as money. Church boards thinking along these lines should get proper valuations, take legal and planning advice, and set out clearly what the parish must keep. For investors, partnerships with churches on well-located land can combine community benefit with sound returns.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com