CSC Inks Deal to Buy Episcopal Church’s Midtown HQ

CSC Real Estate is nearing a divine deal.

Salo and Alberto Smeke’s CSC Real Estate is under contract to acquire a 12-story Midtown building at 815 Second Avenue from the Episcopal Church, The Real Deal has learned. The 146,000-square-foot property has served as the longtime headquarters of the Episcopal Church.

CSC Real Estate confirmed it is under contract to acquire the property. It did not disclose a price or plans for the site, but all signs point to a residential conversion. CSC specializes in office-to-residential conversions.

The Church hired Denham Wolf Real Estate Services to put the 1960s-era building up for sale this summer, Commercial Observer reported. The Episcopal Church announced in 2012 it would relocate its headquarters after its bishops and deputies voted to consider a sale. But a sale never materialized.

The motivations for selling the property became more apparent since the pandemic. Much of the church’s staff has moved to remote work, leaving its operations and organizations occupying less than half of the building, according to the Episcopal News Service.

In October, the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council authorized a plan to negotiate the sale of the Episcopal Church Center.

The Church will occupy one floor in the building until it finds a new office, the Episcopal News Service reported. 

CSC is one of the most active buyers of Manhattan office-to-residential properties. In March 2025, it acquired nearby 300 East 42nd Street from David Werner, with plans to convert 12 of the building’s 18 floors into 140 residential units. Later that year, the firm acquired an assemblage from A.M. Property Holding at 75 Maiden Lane and 13 Gold Street for $45.2 million.

Earlier this year, the New York-based firm’s affiliate, CSC Coliving, submitted an $80 million bid for the 1.76 million-square-foot property at 1500 Market Street in Philadelphia. The property went up for sale after former owner Elie Schwartz’s Nightingale Properties defaulted on its loan in 2023. CSC withdrew its bid in July, citing insufficient tax abatements from the city of Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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