The Highlands Lutheran Church property at 3995 N. Irving St. in Denver is for sale. (Courtesy Good Karma Photo)
After a century at 3995 N. Irving St., the Highlands Lutheran Church has moved.
The congregation’s roughly 14,000-square-foot church building in the Berkeley neighborhood is listed for sale at $1.75 million, about $125 per square foot. Upkeep and maintenance on the property, both physically and financially, had gotten in the way of other church activities, said the church’s pastor, Samm Melton-Hill.
“We wanted to spend more time doing our ministry and serving our community in some capacity … that’s what led to our final decision in selling,” Melton-Hill said.
The congregation moved north about two months ago to 7375 Samuel Drive, where it is renting a church from the Rocky Mountain Synod, the regional Lutheran Church organization.
“When we moved into that neighborhood, it was a huge immigrant community,” Melton-Hill said of Berkeley. “We were finding our identity as a neighborhood congregation. As the neighborhood has changed over the past 100 years, so have we.
“With us moving to a new neighborhood, being a big immigrant community, our history is restarting again.”
The land where the former Highlands Lutheran Church sits was first purchased by the congregation about a century ago from the Catholic Church. The current building was constructed in 1957 with an expansion completed five years later, said Monnie Elliott, a broker with The McMillan Cos. who represents the church.
The interior of the church building. (Courtesy Good Karma Photo)
While non-church operators are welcome to make an offer, the congregation would prefer the new owner use the building for community purposes.
“If we have multiple buyers, and one is a developer and one is a congregation, we’re always going to prefer a congregation,” Melton-Hill said.
And to the satisfaction of the congregation, much of the interest in the building has been from community or Christian-based organizations, Elliott said.
The church building shortly after it was completed. (Courtesy Highlands Lutheran Church)
There was a previous attempt to convert the church to a preschool, but the deal ultimately didn’t make “economical sense” for both parties, Elliott added.
So, the church hit the market. Appraising the value of the property required a multifaceted approach, trying to find a sweet spot where the list price would match the variety of potential uses for the space.
Three different methods were used to determine the dollar value of the property. First, Elliott checked out recent sales of comparable churches to determine the building’s value as is. Then, she assessed the site’s value as a residential building. Finally, the land itself was appraised.
Highlands Lutheran is not the only church for sale in the Denver metro area; LoopNet shows four other churches on the market.
That list includes a 24,000-square-foot church Uptown that is a Denver historic landmark. It was listed early last year for $7.6 million.
Meanwhile, a Platt Park church sold in July for $1.8 million.
The Highlands Lutheran Church property at 3995 N. Irving St. in Denver is for sale. (Courtesy Good Karma Photo)
After a century at 3995 N. Irving St., the Highlands Lutheran Church has moved.
The congregation’s roughly 14,000-square-foot church building in the Berkeley neighborhood is listed for sale at $1.75 million, about $125 per square foot. Upkeep and maintenance on the property, both physically and financially, had gotten in the way of other church activities, said the church’s pastor, Samm Melton-Hill.
“We wanted to spend more time doing our ministry and serving our community in some capacity … that’s what led to our final decision in selling,” Melton-Hill said.
The congregation moved north about two months ago to 7375 Samuel Drive, where it is renting a church from the Rocky Mountain Synod, the regional Lutheran Church organization.
“When we moved into that neighborhood, it was a huge immigrant community,” Melton-Hill said of Berkeley. “We were finding our identity as a neighborhood congregation. As the neighborhood has changed over the past 100 years, so have we.
“With us moving to a new neighborhood, being a big immigrant community, our history is restarting again.”
The land where the former Highlands Lutheran Church sits was first purchased by the congregation about a century ago from the Catholic Church. The current building was constructed in 1957 with an expansion completed five years later, said Monnie Elliott, a broker with The McMillan Cos. who represents the church.
The interior of the church building. (Courtesy Good Karma Photo)
While non-church operators are welcome to make an offer, the congregation would prefer the new owner use the building for community purposes.
“If we have multiple buyers, and one is a developer and one is a congregation, we’re always going to prefer a congregation,” Melton-Hill said.
And to the satisfaction of the congregation, much of the interest in the building has been from community or Christian-based organizations, Elliott said.
The church building shortly after it was completed. (Courtesy Highlands Lutheran Church)
There was a previous attempt to convert the church to a preschool, but the deal ultimately didn’t make “economical sense” for both parties, Elliott added.
So, the church hit the market. Appraising the value of the property required a multifaceted approach, trying to find a sweet spot where the list price would match the variety of potential uses for the space.
Three different methods were used to determine the dollar value of the property. First, Elliott checked out recent sales of comparable churches to determine the building’s value as is. Then, she assessed the site’s value as a residential building. Finally, the land itself was appraised.
Highlands Lutheran is not the only church for sale in the Denver metro area; LoopNet shows four other churches on the market.
That list includes a 24,000-square-foot church Uptown that is a Denver historic landmark. It was listed early last year for $7.6 million.
Meanwhile, a Platt Park church sold in July for $1.8 million.
