Local News

Once eyed as an arts center, the Church of the Open Word in Newtonville will become condos.

A historic Newton church dating back to the 19th century is set to become housing after city officials approved plans to convert it into condominiums, according to the Boston Business Journal.

The project, planned for 19 Highland Ave. in Newtonville, will transform the former Church of the Open Word into six condominium units while adding a separate five-story building with 26 additional condos on the property, the BBJ reported.

Built in 1893, the former church was once affiliated with the Swedenborgian Church of North America before closing in 2020. 

In 2021, the New Art Center explored buying the church and relocating its operations there, according to Wicked Local. The nonprofit arts organization had aimed to turn the space into a community arts hub and secured city preservation funding to study restoration and reuse possibilities.

Those plans fell through, and an affiliate of Reading-based developer Habitech Communities purchased the property in 2024 for $4 million, according to the BBJ.

Under the approved proposal, Habitech plans to preserve and convert the church sanctuary into residential units while demolishing the adjacent parish house to make way for the larger condo building.

The redevelopment is part of a growing trend across Greater Boston, where former churches are being converted into residences as congregations shrink and housing needs grow.

Construction is currently underway to transform the former Blessed Sacrament church in Jamaica Plain into affordable housing and a performance space, according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. The project will include 55 affordable apartments for residents earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area’s median income, with several apartments reserved for people experiencing homelessness.

In Boston’s Bay Village neighborhood, the former Our Lady of Victories church was converted into 18 condominiums as part of a redevelopment project known as La Victoire.