Prospective buyers aren’t biting, so the asking price recently dropped again on Durango Christian Church.
The price on the lot, located at the corner of East Third Avenue and 11th Street, was reduced to $1.9 million in December after it dropped from the original price to $2.1 million last spring.
Third Avenue properties are sought-after real estate, and though parties have shown interest in the 12,000-square-foot parcel since it was listed in January 2015, “the biggest hurdle is the asking price as it is,” broker John Bernazzani said.
Durango’s downtown area is rife with churches converted to residential use, including two homes on East Fourth Avenue, one of which belongs to city Mayor Dean Brookie.
Rocky Mountain Retreat, located in the 800 block of East Third Avenue, also formerly housed a Unitarian church.
But Durango Christian Church’s size, combined with its price and Third Avenue zoning and historic preservation restrictions, play into the listing’s failure to sell.
City planner Vicki Vandegrift said the property’s EN-1 zoning, which was established to maintain the integrity of Old Durango, allows conditional and limited uses beyond residential, including schools and vacation rentals.
“Churches are not commercial use, so they are allowed and also encouraged in residential zones,” Vandegrift said. “It could potentially be used for something else, but it would have to be within code or else seek rezoning, which would be difficult because it’s in the middle of Third Avenue.”
If a use other than a church was proposed that is allowable within the established zoning, the owner would only need to submit a change-of-use application.
“We have someone very interested in remodeling the building and having a huge home, depending if they sell their current home first,” Bernazzani said. “Someone expressed interest in converting the building to townhomes, but with the culture of that avenue and the asking price, it didn’t pencil in for them. And there was a call for a clothing store, but I think they realized that’s taboo on Third Avenue.”
The Juniper School – a planned charter – also showed interest in the property over the past six months, but most prospective buyers want to continue the building’s use as a church or a cooperative operation where different congregations could share time.
“What brings value to the property is what someone wants to use it for, but remaining a church would be the best-case scenario, from the perspective of historical preservation,” Bernazzani said.
The original building was constructed in the late 1800s with additions completed in the 1940s.
The church has a large congregation area, kitchen, offices, loft, multi-purpose room and eight dedicated parking spaces in the alley behind the property.
In addition to the 10,000-square-foot church, the property includes a 1,900-square-foot, four-bedroom residence on the parcel’s north side with a detached one-car garage.
Jon Alsdorf, the church pastor, has taken the lead on searching for a new property, but none has been identified yet because a purchase is contingent upon selling the Third Avenue location.
Alsdorf said the congregation has outgrown the building, because while square footage is ample, the space ratios aren’t fitting for the owners’ use and remodeling would come at a steep cost.
“The question has always been, is there anyone out there in the market for a building like ours?” Alsdorf asked. “And we’ve discovered it’s pretty narrow.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
