BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A Brooklyn church is up for sale following an influx of new businesses and construction that have pushed out parking for its members, a pastor said.
Antioch Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ is looking for a new home after more than 30 years at 1259 Bedford Ave. near Herkimer and Fulton streets, according to Bishop Michael Jackson.
“As you can see there’s gentrification going on over there,” Jackson said.
“We already had a problem with parking, it was a major issue with us in the last 10 years. All the different high-end stores moving into the area are making it very difficult for us to have any type of parking. It’s stunting the growth of the church.”
Jackson also cited more traffic to the area as a result of new hotels popping up along nearby Atlantic Avenue.
Similarly, another church on Bedford and DeKalb avenues sold its property in January 2016 after limitations in street parking affected the organization’s ability to reach new members.
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Antioch Church bought its two-story property from the Salvation Army in 1980, city records show, picking up the building for around $24,500, Jackson said.
The pastor is now asking for $6 million.
Jackson is in the process of looking around Atlantic Avenue for a new home for the church, which has about 65 members, he said.
Prior to its current property, Antioch Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ was located on Putnam and Bedford avenues.
The pastor is looking to make a move in 2017 and has already received offers from developers, he said, but added that he’s “not in a hurry.”
