Part Of A 135-Year-Old Bed-Stuy Factory Will Become 5-Story Condo

BED-STUY, NY — Developers plan to partially demolish a 135-year-old factory-turned-church in Bed-Stuy to make way for a residential development, according to court records and a church spokesperson.

The Glorious Church of God In Christ has called the historic property on Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Halsey Street for 35 years — and in 2022, church personnel approved a sale of part its Brooklyn home.

Developers with Seventh Street Development are looking to demolish part of the former rubber factory as soon as the sale goes through, according to Brownstoner and court records.

Demolition will not include the church's main sanctuary on Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Halsey Street. It will include garage space, a portion of an adjacent building and the third floor of the adjacent building's Marcus Garvey facade, according to plans filed in Kings County Supreme Court last week.

In total, about 28 percent of the property's floor area would be demolished, property records show.

The demolition will make way for a five-story, 30-unit condominium, representatives told Patch.

A spokesperson for the developer said it was too early to estimate when the demolition would begin given the purchase had not been completed.

"We won’t be able to project a starting date for demolition nor a possible completion date until the transaction is approved," the spokesperson said.

The church will maintain nearly 13,000-square-feet of the property, court records show. Church representatives said they are only selling long-unused buildings adjacent to the main sanctuary.

And the money will help the church carry out a number of upgrades too, including new offices, upgraded plumbing, electrical systems and lighting, and new roofing, bathrooms and a kitchen.

Selling part of the property, which church representatives approved near unanimously in 2022, will allow the church to continue operating as costs continue to rise.

The sale will cost the developer $5 million.

"In this era of rising costs, we’ve been forced to contend with a number of financial challenges. Now, because of the sale of this long-unused property, our church will gain new strength and new resources that will fortify our ability to serve our Lord as well as our community,” a church representative said in a statement.

The brick factory, known for a sign that reads "Glorious Hurch" after a letter fell off the facade, is one of Stuyvesant Heights' few industry buildings, Brownstoner reported.

It was initially occupied by a rubber company, which caused years of local commotion for its growth and noisy and invasive operations.

The building grew despite local pushback and reached its current footprint by 1908, Brownstoner reported. The city absorbed the then-abandoned factory in 1976, and the city sold it to the church in 1982.

It's only the most recent in a long list of historic buildings set for demolition in Bed-Stuy, including a church on Willoughby Avenue and Taaffe Place. The church is just a couple blocks away from 441 Willoughby, a 125-year-old building dramatically demolished in 2022.