Sold for $658,000 in 2011, Now Valued at $3.5 Million: A Portland Church’s Condo Conversion Changes Hands Again

• The Williston-West Church in Portland, Maine, was built in 1877 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
• Its trustees sold it in December 2011 for $658,000 for residential conversion.
• Five condos have been completed, two are unfinished and six more have development rights.
• AO & Associates made a $3.5 million stalking-horse bid; the city assessor values the property at $3.1 million.

A former United Church of Christ building in Portland, Maine, is changing hands again, more than a decade after its congregation sold it. The Portland Press Herald reported that the historic Williston-West Church is to be sold.

The church at 32 Thomas Street was built in 1877 in the High Victorian Gothic style, designed by Francis Fassett. Its parish house, added in 1904, was designed by John Calvin Stevens. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In December 2011 the church’s trustees sold the 19,000-square-foot church and 11,000-square-foot parish house for $658,000 to Australian businessman Frank Monsour, through 32 Thomas Street LLC, for residential conversion.

West End residents opposed the rezoning that allowed the sanctuary to become a community hall and the parish house to become offices and homes, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled the rezoning legal in 2014. Five condos of 1,150 to 2,161 square feet have since been completed, two remain unfinished and six more have development rights.

Coastal Realty Capital LLC, which holds the controlling interest, is dissolving, and Jason Mills was appointed to oversee the sale. AO & Associates LLC of Portland made a $3.5 million stalking-horse bid; the city assessor values the property at $3.1 million. Stefan Keenan of Keenan Auction Company said: “Hopefully this will come together nicely for the community.”

The numbers show how much value can be created, and how slowly, when a church becomes homes. A building sold for $658,000 now carries a valuation several times higher, but only after a zoning fight, a court case and years of partial work. Jamaican investors eyeing a church conversion should budget for time as well as money, and should check that the planning permissions are secure before paying for development potential.

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