Diocese of North Carolina Announces Sale of 200 West Morgan Street
The Diocese of North Carolina announces today the sale of the Diocesan House office building at 200 West Morgan Street in Raleigh.
The building and property has been sold to Convexity Properties of Chicago, a real estate development firm with a noted track record of mixed-use projects. Per their website, their projects are community centric, working “closely with local governments and communities to ensure our vision matches theirs.” The expectation is that the current building will be dismantled to allow for the new vision.
The sale was overseen by Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a professional services company specializing in real estate and investment management.
The property was listed for sale in September 2022 after a three-year discernment process about what to do with the building following the departure of longtime tenants in 2019. The decision to sell the building was reached by a task force comprised of members from across the Diocese and its governing bodies. Every option was examined and measured by how it might allow the Diocese to further the work of our mission priorities and call to ministry. Ultimately, the decision to sell followed a recognition of the changing commercial landscape in Raleigh along with a shift by diocesan staff to a more remote workforce during the pandemic.
“For two years, we demonstrated we could continue to serve our churches in every way without a central office,” said the Rt. Rev. Sam Rodman, bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, at the time of the announcement to sell the building. “And that was a gift. It allowed us to release any doubts about letting go of our current building and instead get excited about looking forward to how reducing overhead costs of our administrative home may provide more resources for ministry.”
With the sale of the building completed, the conversation now turns to how to invest the net proceeds of the $9.1 million purchase price into diocesan ministry. That discernment will once again be led by an advisory board that has been formed of representatives from across the Diocese and its governing bodies.
The next location of Diocesan House will also enter an exciting phase. The staff is able to remain in its current location for the next year, and the exploration of possible new locations is underway.
“It is an exciting time for the Diocese of North Carolina,” said the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. “We are blessed to have this opportunity to explore how we will use this gift of resources to take us further on our journey to Becoming Beloved Community. We are deeply grateful to all those who helped us get to this next stage of our journey - the discernment task force members, our governing bodies, our Raleigh neighbors, our partners and consultants, and all those who prayed and shared their thoughts to help guide us. The completion of the sale of 200 West Morgan Street gives us the opportunity to consider new mission and ministry initiatives, and we look forward to this next phase of exploration and discerning our collective diocesan call.”
Photo credit: Lynn Hoke
