252 Dunning
Zion Lutheran Church sold their land when they merged with another church nearby. The site is now Madison’s most sustainable, non-subsidized, multi-family building in history. It is certified passive-house construction. Elements of the previous church building were recycled and incorporated into the new building, giving it unique character and connecting it with the legacy of the church on that land. The project is 100% equity financed and some of the contractors who worked on it also own part of it. This project incorporates deep equity and deep sustainability in the re-development of church land.
Project status:
Completed May 2025
Performance:
On schedule, under budget
Description:
30-unit Apt Building
Impact outcomes:
Passive House
Urban Infill
Deep equity
Deep sustainability
Church land
Original Property
Common Grace & Eastmorland Community Center, Madison, WI
Future Community Center and Workforce Housing
Two churches (Lutheran and Moravian) merged to form Common Grace Church. With assistance from the Good Futures Accelerator they launched the Eastmorland Community Center as a way of expanding their mission and ministry with their neighborhood. But they outgrew their space and their aging church building needed extensive and expensive repair. So Threshold Sacred Development and Threshold Builds are helping the church replace their aging building with a new, more flexible, community center that will serve the neighborhood much more effectively. Twenty-six units of workforce housing will also be added to the site, meeting a vital need for more affordable housing in Madison. This project is being financed with an impact investment from a foundation connected to a third, different denomination. Their catalytic financing unlocked the potential for impact on this site and made the project possible.
Project status:
Planned for Fall 2025 groundbreaking
Description:
New community center and church building
26-unit Apt Building
Impact outcomes:
New church and community center space for the neighborhood
Ongoing revenue for the church/community center
Affordable housing
Sustainability features
Impact investment
Current Building
Northside Christian Assembly, Madison, WI
Northside Christian Assembly is a lively church with significant excess land available on a major thoroughfare in the city. Their aging church building needs repair and updates for the future vision of the church. Threshold Sacred Development is serving as the master developer to coordinate a 120-unit low-income tax credit housing development and a 24-unit senior housing project. Funds generated from this project will allow the church to pay down previous debts and renovate their church - including adding a music recording studio that is an expanding ministry of the church.
Project status:
In development
Description:
120 low-income multi-family building
24 unit senior housing building
Renovated church with new music recording studio
Impact outcomes:
Low-income housing
Senior housing
Income for the church
Expanded and improved church and community space
Other projects outside of Wisconsin
First Christian Church, Chattanooga, TN
First Christian Church, Chattanooga is exploring redeveloping their site in the heart of Chattanooga, TN. But before engaging with a developer, they wanted assistance determining what type of development would work best for their church and to achieve the mission goals they have in serving their community. Threshold Sacred Development is helping them align mission dreams with real estate realities; create a request for proposals; and select a local developer partner that will give them the best outcome for the church and neighborhood.
See additional projects developed by Threshold Development here
Interested in other stories of churches and houses of worship using their land and buildings for expanded community benefit and to generate income?? Follow RootedGood online; check out the Igniting Imagination podcast about church property; visit the Lake Institute for Faith and Giving Faithful Generosity Story Shelf; or check out the books below.
Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition offers inspiration and practical help responding to the sale and repurposing of church property.
We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry describes how social enterprise, impact investing, and church property can be used for creative, sustainable ministry.
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