This 1891 Church Loft Is Listed for $750K—Step Inside To See Its Unexpected Transformation

A converted 1891 Denver church has hit the market for $749,900—and inside, you'd never know it used to be a house of worship.

Set within the historic Sanctuary Lofts, this 1,892-square-foot unit skips the solemnity for bright, wide-open living.

"This unit does not feel like a church. The building clearly does, but this unit does not feel like a church,” says listing agent Stan Kniss with Fantastic Frank Colorado.

"It's got the best elements of history and style and architecture without feeling stoic."

The building was once the California Street Methodist Episcopal Church and was built in 1891. Until the 1970s, the church had a bell tower and "at one point in Denver’s history, it was actually the tallest building in Denver," Kniss says.

It became the 12-unit Sanctuary Lofts in 1995.

"I've had some experience with some of these old loft-type properties or some of the old church-type properties, [and] they can be sort of choppy and have weird spaces that you're not really sure what to do with," Kniss explains. "The flow of this one was really remarkable. It was just wide open and easy and simple, a terrific space."

The main level of the 1,892-square-foot space is the living room, dining space, kitchen, and powder room.

“Then upstairs has this amazing loft with some of the old church railings in it, and then that leads into two amazing bedrooms," says Kniss.

"The primary bedroom has two very big walk-in closets, which is sort of unique for a historic property like this. It's very, very livable."

While many church items like the rose and large stained-glass windows are visible from the outside, this particular unit does not have any of those elements, but there is an homage to them.

"When [the sellers] purchased the property, they went out and hired an incredible stained-glass artist to create a stained-glass cover for [a window]. It looks like it could have been original, or certainly a period-type piece," Kniss says.

"When the light comes in through the windows and through the trees, it casts this really beautiful sort of array of colors and shadows and sort of interesting elements."

Both bedrooms have some original brick and stonework in them, but that isn’t the element that makes the secondary bedroom one of Kniss’ favorite things about the condo. 

"The secondary bedroom has a tree right out in front, and when the light comes through, it casts these really lovely sort of beams of light through that space," he says.

His other favorite thing about the condo is downstairs.

“The dining room has some of those original wood elements to it. It's very cozy and sort of open at the same time.”

Kniss says he has read the comments about the church condo on his postings online, and while they have been mostly positive, one theme kept emerging.

“There were a couple of comments from people saying that church properties and old loft properties are really difficult to regulate temperature. One of the first things [the sellers] did is they put in four mini split systems that deliver AC and heat more thoroughly than you might otherwise have,” he says. This is in addition to a central HVAC unit.

The building is close to downtown Denver and has some common spaces, including historic staircases up to the old steeple and outdoor areas.

The ideal buyer "could be somebody that really, really appreciates the sort of uniqueness and the character, the authenticity of it, sort of the provenance of a place like this,” he says.

“It feels like a really cool, old historic loft that has been exceptionally well maintained, but it doesn't feel sort of stuffy and stifled.”