[Updated] East 14th St. synagogue on the market for conversion to residential, commercial use

[Image via Manhattan Sideways]

There's a new listing for 334 E. 14th St. ... current home of the Tifereth Israel Town and Village Synagogue just west of First Avenue.

The current asking price is $13,950,000.

Per the Massey Knakal listing:

Located on the south side of East 14th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, the synagogue currently has meeting room space on the ground floor, a double height sanctuary, and an extension with offices and classrooms. The third floor has an office and a classroom. This building is located on a highly visible retail corridor in the East Village. The property can be delivered vacant and would be suitable for conversion to residential or a variety of commercial uses. Ownership will entertain proposals for a Joint Venture or partial sale.

A little history of the structure, via New York Songlines:

The building was originally built in 1866 as the First German Baptist Church, designed in the Rundbogenstil by Julius Boekell. It became the Ukranian Church in 1928, when it gained two of its onion domes.

Updated 12:11 p.m.

Massey Knakal passed along this news release that addresses any possible concerns about the synagogue's future.

Many religious organizations today are finding themselves with outdated and inefficient space that no longer fits their needs. The Town & Village Synagogue (“T&V”) is one such institution who is taking affirmative steps to address their situation and improve upon their current home to propel their mission for the next generation. The synagogue’s motto is “Building Community & Commitment,” and to do so, they would like to redevelop their current space or to find a new, modern space to permit their congregation to grow, and that is easily accessible for their services and educational programs, including their award-winning Hebrew School.

Founded in 1948, the Conservative Jewish synagogue was created to serve the young men and women starting new lives after WWII in newly built Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village ... The original two story church building, which sits on a 60’ wide lot, was converted and added onto over the years. The total space now consists of 11,300 square feet consisting of a social hall on the ground floor, a double height sanctuary and an extension with offices and classrooms on the second floor.

The extension also provides for a third floor with an office and a classroom. While the building has grown in value over the years, the current layout, while offering many opportunities for a potential buyer, is no longer ideal for the synagogue. Having the sanctuary on the second floor has proved to be especially problematic for the synagogue. Although handicap accessible with a chair lift, it can sometimes take many minutes for T&V’s elderly and disabled members to enter or exit the space. The rest of the congregation also faces significant overcrowding on High Holidays and other key synagogue events. The current building organization also leads to a great deal of inefficiency and lost space needed for their various classroom and meeting space requirements.

T&V’s goal is to work with a developer to redevelop their current space or to relocate to a larger space within the neighborhood to a space with a 10,000 square foot floor plate or larger, with a ground floor presence. This type of space in the East Village is hard to come by, but the synagogue leadership has decided that unless they became proactive in their efforts they will never know if they can redevelop their space or find new space to meet their needs.

To aid them in their efforts, T&V has enlisted Massey Knakal Realty Services to market the property and solicit proposals. James P. Nelson, who is spearheading the marketing ... recommends a strategy of requesting a variety of proposals which could address the synagogue’s needs. These options include selling the property outright, or a partial sale, trade or joint venture where the property could be redeveloped with T&V maintaining its current location in a portion of the redeveloped and enlarged space.