Call it a chouse. Or a chome.
An early-20th-century church in Berkeley that’s housed a number of faith groups through the years has been transformed into a single-family home and is for sale for $1.4 million.
Chris Allen, whose investment firm is Steele Park Properties, purchased the 4,000-square-foot church for $500,000 from the Church of the Resurrection in 2017. Allen said the church has operated as a Baptist, Catholic, and most recently an Eastern Orthodox church.
Allen said the Eastern Orthodox bishop decided the church was too run-down to host services.
“At that point he put it up for sale,” Allen said. “We put in $85,000 just in structural (work).”
Allen said it was his first church renovation project. He considered rezoning the property to multifamily, but decided to keep it as a single-family structure.
“We just didn’t have the budget,” he said. “In truth, community-wise, I think we did the smarter thing … The neighborhood has absolutely embraced us,” he said.
The home opens up into a wide-open living area, with custom Gothic windows and an angled wood backdrop with a fireplace. Part of the renovation included adding an upstairs with a balcony, master bedroom and bathroom. Downstairs, the new kitchen includes a large island and separate wet bar. Allen kept some of the original stained-glass leaded windows as an art piece that comes with the home purchase.
Huge glass doors open out to an entertaining area and yard. Outside, Allen tore down the old structure that housed the church administration offices and erected a three-car garage.
Allen said the renovations cost $750,000.
Address: 4190 Xavier St.
Listing price: $1.425 million
Stats: 4,000-square-foot home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms
Listing broker (and seller): Chris Allen, who markets his properties as Allen & Associates Properties
The finer things: Gothic windows, wood floors, custom kitchen with wet bar and detached three-car garage
Call it a chouse. Or a chome.
An early-20th-century church in Berkeley that’s housed a number of faith groups through the years has been transformed into a single-family home and is for sale for $1.4 million.
Chris Allen, whose investment firm is Steele Park Properties, purchased the 4,000-square-foot church for $500,000 from the Church of the Resurrection in 2017. Allen said the church has operated as a Baptist, Catholic, and most recently an Eastern Orthodox church.
Allen said the Eastern Orthodox bishop decided the church was too run-down to host services.
“At that point he put it up for sale,” Allen said. “We put in $85,000 just in structural (work).”
Allen said it was his first church renovation project. He considered rezoning the property to multifamily, but decided to keep it as a single-family structure.
“We just didn’t have the budget,” he said. “In truth, community-wise, I think we did the smarter thing … The neighborhood has absolutely embraced us,” he said.
The home opens up into a wide-open living area, with custom Gothic windows and an angled wood backdrop with a fireplace. Part of the renovation included adding an upstairs with a balcony, master bedroom and bathroom. Downstairs, the new kitchen includes a large island and separate wet bar. Allen kept some of the original stained-glass leaded windows as an art piece that comes with the home purchase.
Huge glass doors open out to an entertaining area and yard. Outside, Allen tore down the old structure that housed the church administration offices and erected a three-car garage.
Allen said the renovations cost $750,000.
Address: 4190 Xavier St.
Listing price: $1.425 million
Stats: 4,000-square-foot home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms
Listing broker (and seller): Chris Allen, who markets his properties as Allen & Associates Properties
The finer things: Gothic windows, wood floors, custom kitchen with wet bar and detached three-car garage
They started at $1.6M, now reduced to $1.45M.
How low will it go?