Joint Venture Acquires Former Church in Manhattan, Plans 500-Unit Affordable Housing Redevelopment

NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between nonprofit developer Community Access, affordable housing developers Spatial Equity and Duvernay + Brooks, as well as neighborhood preservation organization Cooper Square Committee, has acquired the site of the former St. Emeric church in Manhattan’s East Village. According to Wikipedia, the former Roman Catholic church was originally built around 1950 and closed in 2013 when the Parish of St. Emeric merged with that of nearby St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church. The joint venture plans to build more than 500 affordable housing units on the site, including homes for senior New Yorkers, formerly homeless individuals and those with special needs who qualify for supportive services. The development team expects to break ground on the first phase of the redevelopment in 2026 and may also pursue rezoning through a land use review process for the second phase. Denham Wolf Real Estate Services marketed the property for sale on behalf of the parish, which is overseen by The Archdiocese of New York.