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Adaptive Reuse & Densification

Renderings of a church property development site.
A massing model depicts residential infill development on a church campus at three levels of density.

An Evolving Landscape

The American Rust Belt furnishes vivid examples of the challenges that arise when social infrastructure suited to one form of life is disrupted by a societal transformation like deindustrialization. The infrastructure of religion faces similarly seismic upheaval in many places historically structured by its presence and practices. The evolution of the Catholic Church in the United States, in particular, is intimately tied to the dramas of the American city: industrialization, urbanization, and waves of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries; and deindustrialization, suburbanization, new waves of immigration, and gentrification in the late 20th and early 21st.

The Stakes

Just as industrial infrastructure in many cities has been repurposed to suit the habits and tastes of a new society–lofts and studios, creative offices and breweries–congregations, communities, municipalities, and entrepreneurs are increasingly adapting the historic infrastructure of worship to a new era. If the transition of working factories to luxury apartments raises difficult economic and social questions, the transformation of historic places of worship, community, and service into recreational spaces, private residences, or businesses raises even more.

Emerging Questions:

  • What is the scope of this phenomenon? What patterns characterize church property adaptations and conversions?
  • What criteria should be used to evaluate the success of a church property adaptation?
  • What factors contribute to or inhibit successful projects?
  • How are canon law provisions governing the reuse of formerly sacred space to be applied in local contexts?
  • What are the tax and civil law implications of mixed or changed uses?
  • What does the phenomenon of the conversion of sacred property mean in the life of the Church today?

Tracking Church Property Adaptation

The Redevelopment Tracker is a catalog of church property adaptations compiled as part of CPI's efforts to document and promote reflection on this ongoing transformation of the spiritual, cultural, and physical landscape.

Explore the Redevelopment Tracker