Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco sells church for $2.3 million to private developers
SAN FRANCISCO – Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, the spiritual heart of the Bay Area LGBT community for 45 years, sold its church building at 150 Eureka St. for $2,325,000 to buyers known as 150 Eureka St., LLC, a team of developers that specializes in small residential projects, said sales agent Katharine Holland of Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
The sale closed escrow on Wednesday, Feb. 4. It was one of five offers received on the building, which went on the market in early January. The church’s four-unit apartment building next door at 138-140 Eureka St., has also sold and will close escrow on Feb. 11. The owner is not a developer and has promised to leave all tenants in place. The sales price of that building will be released upon closing.
The MCCSF congregation is moving to 1300 Polk St., where it will rent space from First Congregational Church of San Francisco. The first MCCSF services at Polk Street will be Sunday, Feb. 8, at noon (traditional service), and 6 p.m. (high-energy gospel service). Final services at 150 Eureka were held this past week.
The congregation, now numbering 92 active members, voted unanimously in December to sell the church because the 114-year-old building is worn out beyond repair. Executive Pastor Irene Laudeman led the committee that did an exhaustive search of churches to rent in the city; the offer from First Congregational Church of San Francisco came in November.
“We are excited about our new neighborhood and the relationship with First Congregational Church,” said Rev. Robert Shively, MCCSF’s senior pastor. “In many ways we are returning to our roots with this move,” he said, noting that Polk Street was the original gay neighborhood long before the Castro.
