Holy Trinity Episcopal Church mulls expansion, apartments on downtown West Palm land
Alexandra Clough | The Palm Beach Post
Yet another West Palm Beach house of worship is partnering with a real estate company to develop its prime water view land.
This time, it's Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at 211 Trinity Place, on the east side of Olive Avenue just north of Lakeview Avenue and the bridge from Palm Beach.
In September, the church revealed it is working with The Brodsky Organization of New York to expand and modernize its downtown West Palm Beach campus, as well as build new housing.
The church praised Brodsky's "long history of partnering with Episcopal institutions to successfully achieve their ministry goals."
In 2016, Brodsky built Enclave at the Cathedral, a twin-tower apartment complex on the grounds of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, the seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
WORKFORCE HOUSING COULD BE PART OF HOLY TRINITY'S DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Holy Trinity's website said the partnership with Brodsky is intended to expand the church's programming space and boost its revenues, "all while preserving our beautiful and historic church for future generations," according to the church's website.
"This project is not only about expanding our physical space but also about broadening our ability to meet the growing needs of our community," according to a Sept. 27 letter to congregants written by the church's rector, The Rev. Rutger-Jan Heijmen.
Apartments, including workforce housing, are expected to be part of the plan.
The church's holdings include a 1-acre city block that extends from Olive to Chase Street, west of North Flagler Drive and the Intracoastal Waterway.
While many churches are rich in property, their finances sometimes can be constrained by increased demand for services, or fluctuations in their congregation size.
WHY DOES HOLY TRINITY NEED TO WORK WITH A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER?
At Trinity Episcopal, Sunday attendance has nearly doubled since 2019, Heijmen told congregants in the letter.
While many churches are rich in property, their finances sometimes can be constrained by increased demand for services, or fluctuations in their congregation size.
WHY DOES HOLY TRINITY NEED TO WORK WITH A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER?
At Trinity Episcopal, Sunday attendance has nearly doubled since 2019, Heijmen told congregants in the letter.
His letter also said the expansion project would keep the church intact but would expand the size of the congregation's program spaces.
The need for more meeting space is great, Heijmen wrote.
Ministries to children and youth have expanded. In addition, Bible study, recovery groups, worship services and community gatherings meet every day of the week on the church's campus.
The expansion also could mean the construction of residences, specifically workforce housing, "to address the needs of our city," according to the letter.
Heijmen said the arrangement with Brodsky would generate "significant ministry resources," but he didn't provide specifics. A church spokesperson said no further details are available.
In an October statement, Thomas Brodsky, principal of The Brodsky Organization, said the company “has a proud history of working with Episcopal and other religious organizations to create real estate developments that unlock value and provide critical space for ministry."
In addition to working with the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Brodsky also has partnered with the Catholic Archdiocese in New York as well as the General Theological Seminary, also in New York.
Holy Trinity's expansion exploratory process, including discussions with city officials, is expected to take six months to a year. After that, the church would need to work through design, permitting and finally construction, which could take a few years, Heijmen wrote in the letter.
In a departure from some other West Palm Beach deals arranged with houses of worship, the church will not sell any of its land to the developer, the spokesperson said.
The Brodsky partnership also will not mean construction of a dock on land the church owns along Flagler Drive, east of Trinity Park.
The church retains the right to build a 40-slip marina on the Intracoastal Waterway following settlement of a lawsuit in 2016 with Palm Beach County and the city of West Palm Beach. In 2013, the church filed the lawsuit after it claimed that the South Cove Natural Area, built in the waterway, infringed on its longstanding right to build a dock.
The church is separated from the waterfront by the city-owned Trinity Park, but the state recognizes the church’s “riparian” rights extend to the water.
HOLY TRINITY GREW OUT OF PALM BEACH'S BETHESDA-BY-THE-SEA
Holy Trinity was created in the late 19th century after Episcopal worshippers outgrew their base church in Palm Beach, Bethesda-by-the-Sea, which was not open during the summer, according to the church's website.
Worshippers began meeting in homes in West Palm Beach, then created a building fund. In 1900, a small wood-shingled Holy Trinity Church was built on the southeast corner of Dixie Highway and Evernia Street. The church mission was admitted as a parish to the Episcopal Church in 1908.
In 1916, the Rev. Lionel A. Wye became rector, and he assembled lakefront land formerly belonging to the J.R. Anthony family. The original church building moved to this parcel, and then a new church sanctuary was built on the land in 1924, the church's website said.
The church withstood the 1928 hurricane, the 1929 stock market crash and an economic crisis that nearly resulted in the foreclosure of the property. But Holy Trinity rebounded, and in 1945, the mortgage was retired.
Since then, this once-sleepy section of the city has grown into a neighborhood of tall buildings.
