Repurposing Church Property for Housing and Other Community Uses

Faith in the Public Square:

• Helps congregations and denominations be a blessing to their communities by evaluating their potential to use their property to build affordable housing and provide other programs and services. 

• Advises congregations on how to work with trusted legal, architectural and financing advisors who exclusively represent the congregation to remove the mystery of navigating a complex development process. 

We can consult with: 

• Congregations of all faiths and in rural, suburban and urban settings

• Denomination property committees

• Municipalities which wish to collaborate with faith-based institutions

• Advise law schools in teaching law students to help congregations navigate the zoning process

A Few Pointers:

• Do not sign anything with any developer without legal counsel who represents you and only you. Sometimes developers pay your early pre-development costs which can be tempting when you don’t have much money. The problem, however, is that the attorney will end up representing the interests of the one paying him or her and not represent you which could lead to much misunderstanding and a deal which favors the developer and not you. Often these deals fall apart anyway much to the consternation of both you and the developer. There are strategies we can help a congregation use to contain pre-development costs and pay for and or secure pro-bono services from professionals who represent you and only you. 

• Do have a professional who can work with you to:

  • Understand your property. What do you own? What can you build? What is the zoning?

  • Discern your mission and remain true to your principles 

  • Use your governance structure to be sure decision making is transparent and that the congregation is engaged. 

  • Get organized to enter the development process in the right way and avoid traps. They will help you ask the right questions of the right people at the right time so you do not waste money or institutional energy on tasks that do not move you forward. 

• Contract with the right professionals who specialize in affordable housing development.

• Government entities can be helpful but you have to know when and how to talk with them and use the information they offer. A pre-development professional can help you find the attorney and architect who can help you make the most of what government’s have to offer and who to talk to at what time. 

  SIX PRE-DEVELOPMENT STEPS

  While I was at the New York State Council of  Churches, we used the following six step process to guide congregations through the development maze:

Step 1. Discernment and Getting Organized

Gathering and organizing Information about your property, governance and mission to discern your readiness to take the next step. Sometimes, this step takes the longest but when you complete it, you will head off surprises later which can delay your development. 

Step 2. Prepare a Scope of Work 

Secure the services of an attorney and architect to assemble a scope of work. The scope lays out the work professionals will perform on your behalf to create an RFP or RFQ (see Step 4). The scope specifies when and what work will be performed and by who. It will specify the costs for these professionals and how the church will pay for it. A scope of services heads off surprise charges and makes sure there are clear deliverables. To ensure transparency, the scope will need to be approved by your congregation and/or Council and your denomination if they have involvement in property decisions. 

Step 3. Preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

Once the scope has been approved, the professionals will perform the tasks outlined in the scope of work which they will need to assemble an RFQ or RFP. It’s important that the faith based institutions be actively involved in communicating with their professionals and ask lots of questions  (no matter how dumb they may seem) while following through on providing requested information and approvals. 

Step 4: Prepare and Request for Qualifications or Request for Proposals. 

The attorney and architect you hire create a Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications which are designed to interest a developer in bidding on your projects. A Request for Proposals essentially lays out a take it or leave it proposal on which the developer bids. A Request of Qualifications is the more typical approach where the congregation enters into a contract with a developer to gather more information, explore with you the best option for your property,  and test the necessary government approvals. At the completion of this process the professionals have the right of first refusal on the next phase negotiating a development agreement,  but either party could decide to terminate the process or secure another bidder for this process. 

Step 5. Negotiating an Excellent Development Agreement

Make sure that a qualified attorney who represents you and only you takes the lead in negotiating with a developer a development agreement. This a highly detailed document which describes your partnership with a developer.  A development agreement lists out the deliverables and the rules for the road for you to apply for and secure funding. 

At this point, more often than not, you have created a separate 501c3 which becomes the entity your attorney represents. The development agreement will include a provision for whether the congregation will sell some or all of its property to the partnership. In some cases, the congregation leases their property to the partnership where the congregation would receive a lump payment along monthly or yearly léase payments which could extend at least 30 years and often much more.  

Step 6 Executing the Development Agreement

Once you have a development agreement in hand it is time to  implement it. While you seek to anticipate all possible obstacles and the plans and contingencies in the agreement, without fail during these times of implementation, there are twists, turns and setbacks you may encounter which require some renegotiation. A professional walks with you on this journey to keep lines of communication open and to address misunderstandings or setbacks. 

Who specializes in pre-development consulting with Faith-Based Institutions? 

The following groups offer advice and/or pre-development professionals who exclusively represent a faith-based institution. Faith in the Public Square can advise you which entity might be most suitable for your needs. 

• Bricks and Mortals B and M offers education on pre-development and may also help you contract with a pre-development professional. B and M focuses on New York City.

• Enterprise Community Partners--New York  If you are located in New York City, you can apply to Enterprise Faith-Based Development Initiative to join a cohort where Enterprise will pay for the professionals you need to issue an RFQ or RFP. Contact Victoria Rowe-Barreca to learn if you are eligible and can apply. 

• Faith in the Public Square Peter Cook used to serve as Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches where he offered advice across New York State to faith-based institutions. Peter now works independently and works with a new network of pre-development professionals. He can help you find the right professionals and figure out the best strategies for faith-based institutions to pay for them. Peter can also advise congregations in rural communities which may not qualify for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Financing (40 units and above) but which can still access programs designed for smaller rural projects. One resource we use is New York Rural Housing Coalition

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) invites faith-based institutions into cohorts where they pay for pre-development assistance. Cohorts are targeted for specific geographic areas of New York State. Contact LISC to find out if they are taking applications and if you are eligible to apply.  

• New York State Council of Churches/Interfaith Affordable Housing Collaborative/The Partnership for Faith Based Affordable Housing and Community Development

  This entity is made up of three interlocking entities which can walk you through its six-step pre-development process and advise you about your readiness to use pre-development professionals and to structure a scope of work with those professionals.  The Interfaith Affordable Housing Collaborative has limited funds to make a pre-development loan to pay for a pre-development professionals. Contact Rashida Tyler, Acting Executive Director of New York State Council of Churches or Marc Greenberg, President of the Interfaith Affordable Housing Collaborative. Rashida is Program Manager for the Collaborative. 

Resources: 

As a reference, here are two recordings about the pre-development process which were created by the New York State Council of Churches.

• Housing Summit: Rebuilding the Sacred Hearts of Our Community, June 18, 2025, The Riverside Church, New York City.

• Virtual Open House with the Partnership for Faith-Based Housing and Community Development, January 18, 2024. 

An Even Better Way to Zone: Achieving More Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Communities by Donald L. Elliott, Island Press, 2025.