Countering NIMBYism: Converting Houses of Worship into Much-Needed Housing

Once upon a time, large and small churches were the mainstays of most American communities. However, Christianity Today reported that “a record number of congregations is predicted to close their doors by 2025,” an estimated 100,000, to be exact.

In writing about the topic for Urban Land Magazine, Niagara Consulting Group’s Rick Reinhard explained that there is a “great mismatch between small, aging congregations and large, deteriorating properties.” Furthermore, religious institutions seek ways to use extra space to cut costs while boosting their missions.

Reinhard, who is also with the Lakelands Institute, explained that housing advocates are eyeing underused properties to help meet the need for affordable housing.

The Challenges

Reinhard wrote that while church-to-housing efforts could be considered a “match made in heaven,” conversion barriers exist. These include:

• Pushback from faith leaders who might find such conversions problematic to their beliefs

• Objections from elderly congregations who are adamant against changing “the sacred places where they were married, their parents were memorialized, and their children were baptized”

• Outdated zoning ordinances, building codes and property tax regulations that support active houses of worship rather than stagnating and struggling real estate

• Concerns from NIMBY neighbors convinced that turning the peaceful (if decrepit) houses of worship into mixed-use developments will lead to a decline in safety and an increase in noise and traffic

The Solutions

Reinhard listed some reuse victories but pointed out that more can and should be done, like the following:

Understand the problem’s scope. Though some church-to-practical-use conversions have been successful, Reinhard said that the challenge requires more people, time and money to achieve goals.

Transition faith institutions into the real estate business. While these institutions own billions in real estate assets, this is treated as an afterthought. “We need to convince faith institutions to be as much in the real estate business as in the religion business,” Reinhard said.

Develop new worship models. Reinhard said that using large properties for church activities only once or twice a week is a poor use of resources. “Houses of worship that are unwelcoming, single-use, fenced-in fortresses should be a thing of the past,” he added.

Update municipal regulations. The current regulations assume “healthy, single-use houses of worship of times past,” Reinhard said. But this hinders the ability to convert empty churches into much-needed affordable housing quickly.

Reinhard also indicated that local, state and federal government incentives should back faith-related redevelopment projects. As traditional affordable housing requires several funding sources to succeed, “redeveloping a house of worship requires even more,” Reinhard said.

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