All Star Realty, Inc. has been exclusively retained to sell the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church (the “Property”), a prominent landmark and community asset in Watertown Square.
The Property is comprised of 1.54 acres of land, improved by three buildings: 1) an impressive c. 1894 church; 2) an attached three-story c. 1924 stucco building 3) a detached two and one- half story former parsonage house c. 1897. The entire site provides approximately 400 feet of frontage on Mt Auburn Street, one of
Watertown’s main thoroughfares.
On the western end of the property is the main parking lot containing about 22 surface parking spaces. At midpoint sits the impressive Romanesque-style church c. 1894. The church’s exterior is constructed of buff-colored Milford granite blocks and trimmed with brownstone. The interior boasts a dramatic sanctuary and nave, displaying a number of stunning stained-glass windows and open wood trusses, providing a seating capacity of roughly 500. Adjoining the sanctuary is a fellowship hall and performance stage with a seating capacity of about 300 and a small chapel with a seating capacity of 80. The church’s lower level is occupied by the Watertown Food Pantry and various perimeter classrooms. In total the 1894 church building is estimated to contain 18,500 square feet of building area.
Attached to the church is a three-story stucco building built in 1924, referred to as the Parish House. The first floor of the building contains a former day care space, offices, as well as meeting and gathering rooms. The second floor is divided into several areas with perimeter offices. The lower level contains a small gymnasium, mechanical room and storage. In total the Parish House contains an estimated 8,600 square feet of building area.
The third building on the far eastern end of the campus is a freestanding two and one-half story wood-frame stucco building, built in 1897, originally the Parsonage House, now used as seminarian housing. The interior of the building was renovated in 2005 and is estimated to have 3,000 square feet of gross building area. The three buildings combined contain approximately 30,000 square feet of gross building area.
The property presents an excellent redevelopment and adaptive reuse opportunity for housing of scale, one that will piggyback off the robust momentum of the newly enacted Watertown Square Area Plan and the MBTA Communities Act. The City of Watertown has identified the Property as one of four priority redevelopment opportunities.