The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coming to the Upper West Side.
The ministry signed a lease for 40,000 square feet of shared and dedicated space at West End Collegiate Church’s facility located at 245 West 77th St. The Mormon church will share the space with the West End Collegiate congregation, something which house of worship’s senior minister celebrated.
“So often we hear of churches forced to make difficult decisions about their buildings or their ministry because of our ever-changing socio/cultural/economic landscape. That’s not the story of our faith. At West End, we are telling the story of God’s abundant blessings by welcoming new partners in faith to our building. We are writing a new chapter where there is room enough for all, where everyone may belong, and where grace and love abounds,” said William Critzman, senior minister of West End and President of The Collegiate Church of the City of New York.
Both congregations will occupy the building in tandem, with each of them having dedicated spaces. The two congregations will share the building’s sanctuary, gym, multipurpose room, kitchen and chapel. There are also talks of a third religious group potentially making themselves at home at West End Collegiate Church.
OPEN Impact Real Estate (OPEN), a leading woman-owned commercial real estate services company, brokered the lease.
“West End Collegiate was looking to activate the recently vacated space to support its programmatic and financial goals. The rare combination of a dedicated entrance and access to multiple public assembly spaces appealed to many religious and cultural organizations,” said Stephen Powers, co-founder of OPEN. “We are thrilled to have helped implement a shared space model that maximizes the use of large multi-purpose spaces which frequently are underutilized on many religious campuses.”
“West End Collegiate has an opportunity to reimagine and reinvigorate itself following the challenges of Covid. We are adapting to our new circumstances, and thrilled with the outcome of our Committee’s work which strengthens the financial position of the church and sets the table for its continued successful operations and growth,” said Margaret Tobin, West End Church member and Chair of the Strategic Real Estate Committee.
