Astoria Presbyterian Church
Queens Tribune January 22, 2004
By AZI PAYBAKAH
Members of the Astoria Presbyterian Church tabled a vote this week on a proposal to replace the congregation’s current 82-year-old building with a new, easier to maintain church and senior housing facility - a proposal made necessary by the church’s declining membership and million-dollar debt.
Members of the church at 31-30 33rd St. were scheduled to vote on the proposal on Jan. 18, but were forced to wait because only 16 of the 82 members were present, a church official said. The church postponed the vote, but an official said it will conduct it as early as March 7.
The church’s leader Reverend Don Olinger said developing the property was necessary because of the church’s finances. According to financial records supplied by Olinger, the church earned approximately $145,599 in 2003, but faced expenses of approximately $159,700. Those expenses included $68,307 in staff costs and $68,632 in facility overheard (repairs and utilities).
The resulting $14,000 deficit does not include deficits from previous years, or the cost of overhauling the heating, wiring and plumbing systems, which Olinger estimated around $1 million. Although several other ministries, a day care center and the Astoria Performing Arts Center all rent space from the church, Olinger said, "From none of these groups do we receive enough money to go towards maintenance and repairs."
He added that the church leadership had made several attempts at attracting new revenue, but could not raise the money needed to keep the church open.
The result is a proposal that would call for the demolition of the current church, which would be replaced with 100 units of senior housing, 3,000 square feet of professional space, a 5,000 square foot sanctuary and 84 underground parking spaces. Because the property is zoned as R-6, the proposed development would be built "as of right," or without any special permits or community approval.
According to the preliminary proposal by organizer Philip Philippou and construction firm MA Angeliades, "The church should be able to realize between $125,000 and $200,000 of free cash flow which can be applied to mission and ministry."
According to Philippou, construction costs on the development would be between $15 and $25 million, which would be paid by the church over time using the revenue from the senior housing. Philippou said that details on the housing - like what professional entity would run it - are not available yet, but said the units would cost about $1,800 a month.
