Churches in Massachusetts are looking for new ways to use their space as attendance has dropped, including transforming the spaces to be used as affordable senior housing.
Inside Hill Memorial Baptist Church in Allston, which opened in 1903 and was once a vibrant community place for worship, has been sitting vacant after closing in 2023. Now, the Community Development Corporation in Allston-Brighton plans to turn into a $48 million community center with 49 units for seniors.
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“Rather than destroy this symbol of the past, [we want to] make it into something usable,” Executive Director of the Community Development Corporation John Woods said.
“Residents will be able to live here, come home, but also if they need elderly services or any type of community space. We are hopefully having a library, a gym, some meeting rooms for the residents,” CDC Project Manager Mara Tu said.
Construction on the church is set to begin by the end of the year, which could not come at a better time, according to the age strong commissioner for the city of Boston, Emily Shea. She says that the need for affordable senior housing is critical.
“Just at the Boston Housing Authority alone, we have over 11,000 older adults that are currently housed in affordable units. And we have another 10,000 people over the age of 65 on the wait list,” Shea said.
Hill Memorial is not the only place of worship that has been converted. Nearly a frozen former archdiocese properties has been transformed into mixed-income and affordable housing, including Saint Aidan Church in Brooklyn.
“When we are having conversations with parishes, with pastors, it’s about how we can preserve our legacy of service and help to continue to meet the needs of the community. An effective way to do that is to look at the property and to see how it can be repurposed for affordable mixed-income housing,” President of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, Bill Grogan said.
