Vacant East Village church to become 500+ affordable housing units

A former Catholic church in the East Village is set to become a residential development with more than 500 affordable housing units. The Archdiocese of New York on Wednesday announced the Parish of St. Brigid-St. Emeric sold the vacant church and school campus at 181 Avenue D to a joint venture led by Community Access, Spatial Equity, Duvernay + Brooks, and Cooper Square Committee. The project will include homes for seniors and formerly homeless individuals, including those with special needs who qualify for supportive services.

The first phase of construction will be as-of-right and kick off in 2026; the team may pursue a rezoning for the second phase. Any change in zoning would require the project to go through the uniform land use review procedure (ULURP).

In June, the church entered a deal with the development team to sell the property for up to $68 million, as reported by Crain’s New York.

Under the terms of the deal, the developers would create 570 affordable housing units across the full-block site. The project calls for two towers, one measuring 240,000 square feet and the other 570,000 square feet. Up to 60 percent of the homes will be reserved for homeless New Yorkers.

The site is currently home to a vacant church, a closed school, and a large parking lot. The property lies directly across from a Con Edison power plant, which has polluted parts of the church site. St. Emeric was established in 1949 to provide a place of worship for the growing population at the Jacob Riis Houses and Stuyvesant Town developments. The church shuttered in 2013 and merged its parish with St. Brigid on Avenue B.

“Having a home is a sacred human right, and the archdiocese is both excited and proud to honor the patrimony of the Church by making way for new affordable housing that New Yorkers and their families can thrive in,” Monsignor Kevin J. Nelan, administrator of St. Brigid-St. Emeric said.

The new affordable project joins another currently in the works by the Grand Street Guild, a non-profit formed by the Archdiocese of New York. The group is building two 15-story towers with 400 new apartments, including senior housing, on the Grand Street Guild campus, which is home to 1,500 residents. A lottery recently opened for 196 units at the site for New Yorkers earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.

Since 1974, Community Access has provided supportive housing and social services to New Yorkers facing mental health challenges. The nonprofit has also been a strong advocate for human rights, social justice, and economic equity. Community Access has developed 21 affordable and supportive housing projects across the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, representing $500 million in real estate investments and 1,600 new homes.

Spatial Equity Co., a New York City-based, minority-owned community developer, specializes in affordable housing and sustainable economic development to support underserved neighborhoods and address residents’ needs. The firm has more than 1,000 units in its development pipeline, including supportive, affordable, and workforce housing projects in NY and New Jersey.

Duvernay + Brooks develops affordable housing across the nation, serving as a co-developer on projects in five states with more than 5,000 new units completed or currently under construction.

The Cooper Square Committee is a neighborhood preservation organization that has sponsored the renovation and development of over 600 low-income apartments. It has also pioneered innovative housing models, including a mutual housing association and a community land trust.

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