Slate to pay $9.5M for Catholic church off Fort Greene Park

By Adam Pincus

Slate Property Group signed a contract last month to pay $9.5 million for the shuttered St. Michael-St. Edward Catholic Church at 108 St. Edwards Street just off Fort Greene Park. The church sits on a 24,000 square foot lot and is not landmarked. The Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens announced it would close in 2010.

The development may include a homeless shelter, according to the contract. The contract allows for an extension in the closing date if Slate, “provides seller with evidence that purchaser has received from the New York City Department of Homeless Services an award or approval, in response to a request for rroposal, for the construction and development of a shelter.”

David Schwartz, a principal with Slate, was the signatory for the buyer. The entity that will buy the property is 108 St. Edwards Street Owner LLC. The closing date was provided in the contract documents.

The parcel is approximately four blocks north of Slate’s 570 Fulton Street, a 139-unit, mixed-use tower that the city council approved late last year.

The broker on the sale was Cushman & Wakefield.

The church parcel is adjacent to a new affordable high-rise developed by BFC Partners with the address 112 St. Edwards Avenue. The BFC building is 195 feet tall with 146 apartments. The city issued its initial temporary certificate of occupancy in December 2019.

Brownstoner and Brooklyn Eagle provided histories of the Gothic Revival-style church, which was built between 1891 and 1906.