With the sale of the 20 churches and other buildings that the Archdiocese of St. Louis has for sale and the current discussion on, "<A HREF="http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=956">Who wants to buy a church</A>?"... I am surprised we haven't heard more about the renovation of the Lafayette Park Presbyterian Church into eight condominiums by Gilded Age Renovation.



According to their website, it looks like three of these condos have already sold.



http://www.abbeyonthepark.com/

http://www.urbanstlouis.com/theabbey.html



related "Gilded Age" links:



http://www.thegeorgiancondominiums.com/

http://www.mississippiplace.com/

http://www.edenlofts.com/

http://www.gilded-age.com/

8 units = 8 very lucky people. They are beautiful.

We thought about buying one of those units - they are incredible!

DeBaliviere wrote:...they are incredible!

Indeed. M2Tbone and I were down for the Laf. Sq. housing tour, and happened upon the Abby Lofts just before they got locked down for the evening. The spaces were unbelievable...original organ pipes in one of the units?! The way they used the balconies...it was amazing stuff. I think the sales guy told us that three were sold and three were under contract? My memory fails me. Do you think the novelty of living in such a space would wear thin over time? They were neat, but some of the spaces would be less-than-functional - I'm thinking of the massive staircases winding up those front two units. Dunno... I was impressed, though.

I think you're right about that. We looked at the cheapest one (near the back of the church) that lacked a lot of the "frills" that the more expensive units had, and I think that the appeal of that one probably wouldn't wear thin since it was a more traditional space.

I just think it would be a little weird to live in a church.

a little weird to live in a church

No more weird, I think than living in a former movie theatre, fire house, or school building.



The more strange I think would be a former cemetary, crematorium or funeral parlor.



Just a bit of trivia: Hampton Gardens Apartments along Tilles Park in Southwest City were built on a former potter's field, or cemetary for indigents, where many unclaimed souls from the nearby asylum (State Hospital) and the City's other "undesirables" were buried in unmarked mass graves.

I wish Gilded Age would do to St. Boniface in Carondelet like they did to the Abbey. Come down to my side of the city and make your mark!

I wish they'd rehab the old St. Mary's hospital/infirmary catty corner from the Eden Lofts on Chouteau and that cool strip of vacant houses across from Ameren.

I got to tour the Abbey, I think the units are beautiful. I just don't have the greeny-greena, you know what I meana?

So glad to see the old church renovated. My parents were married there in 1947 when it was Glad Tidings Temple. We attended church there up until about 1960 when we moved to LeMay, but I think it remained Glad Tidings Temple for many years after that. Hope to get up that way from TN some day to see all the neighborhood renovations.

Come on up, CJB. There's an awful lot of change going on in Lafayette Square. And welcome to the forum.

Church built in 1881 is now home for condos

By Lucyann Boston

SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH

04/14/2006



Built in 1881, the two-story stone church at 1505 Missouri Avenue was at the center of one of the city's most fashionable neighborhoods: the beautiful Victorian square lined with mansions and townhouses bordering Lafayette Park. Structurally, the church looks much as it did in the late 1800s and far better than it did a few years ago. Abandoned by the Presbyterians in 1946, the building served other religious denominations until 1999 when in severe disrepair it was left primarily empty to welcome pigeons rather than parishioners.



On beautiful spring mornings the wooden double doors atop the church steps are again being thrown open. Now, backed by custom-built, clear glass inner doors, the old church entrance frames what Jamie and Cheryl Andrews call "one of the most beautiful views in St. Louis:" the vista of historic Lafayette Park from the living room of their modern condominium.



>>> read more

3 penthouse units remain... 3 Story stained glass windows are stunning coupled with loft space and cloister shaped doors...

Of the penthouse units, the 2 units with lofts are under contract. Unit 2E with the organ pipes and choir loft remains.



Gilded Age, L.L.C.

sales@gilded-age.com

(314) 771-7171



Ryan S. Shaughnessy, General Counsel/Broker

Preservation Real Estate Advisors, L.L.C.

Sales Managers for Gilded Age, L.L.C.

ryan@gilded-age.com

(314) 771-7233 (broker's office)