Repurposed under heavenStripped of their religious trappings, area churches live on as condominiums
By Kathy McCabe
Globe Staff / July 27, 2008
When developer Tony Pace had the chance to turn the 100-year-old former Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ipswich into a luxury condo, he sought the blessing of a parish priest.
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Guilt about turning a house of worship into a high-end home isn't limited to crib Catholics.
Karnig Ostayan asked his Armenian pastor to bless the former St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church in Watertown, before turning the church and rectory into 11 upscale condos.
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Many a neighborhood church has gone condo. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston shuttered 65 parishes since instituting a sweeping parish consolidation in 2004. At least 30 properties have since been sold, many to developers eager to turn an old church into trendy housing, even in a declining real estate market.
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