Prominent art dealer Wildenstein & Co. has purchased a recently converted Bushwick rental for $51 million, according to therealdeal.com.
The company bought the property from Cayuga Capital Management (CCM), which had purchased the dilapidated real estate in 2012. The site at 618 Bushwick Ave. includes a seven-story building and a preserved Lutheran church from the 1890s that has been converted into residential units with monthly rents as high as $6,000.
We reported on the conversion of Saint Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in 2013 when CCM started renovations. At the time, we thought the reconstruction of the old church and its neighboring schoolhouse was a little odd— until we learned the site belonged to one of the few areas in Bushwick where zoning laws allow for a mix of commercial and residential uses.
The building project then made a little more sense.
Several other local churches and historic structures have been casualties of Bushwick’s rapid redevelopment, including the Holy Tabernacle Church on Halsey Street and the Bushwick Masonic Temple on Bushwick Avenue.
It’s not yet clear what Wildenstein plans to do with the site and representatives were unavailable for comment.
Cover image courtesy of Google Maps