NEW YORK, December 12, 2023 – Today, SAJ, a historic synagogue and Jewish community on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, announced that Calvary Baptist Church, an Upper West Side church, has signed a 2.25-year lease to rent and share space at SAJ’s 15 West 86^th Street synagogue. The lease will establish a close partnership between the organizations and aligns with both their future goals—Calvary Baptist Church and its parishioners will have an appropriately sized and ideally located place to meet and worship while they construct a new church building and SAJ, as the landlord, will receive an important revenue stream while it considers the right long-term partner for its space.  

"We are thrilled to welcome Calvary Baptist Church and their congregation to our synagogue building, and we look forward to working with them and sharing our space over the coming years," said Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann. "We are grateful to our real estate partners at Denham Wolf for their invaluable assistance securing this lease, and we are excited to continue our search for a long-term tenant who can make the most of the opportunities our synagogue building has to offer."

Located next to Central Park with excellent access to both buses and subways, the synagogue is outfitted with nine classrooms, two large multipurpose rooms, and six office and reception areas that will be shared by SAJ and Calvary Baptist Church over the course of the lease. The space is configured such that both Calvary Baptist Church and SAJ can continue to run services and programming for their respective congregations. The two religious institutions also hope to use the shared space to partner on programming and support each other’s goals and communities.

Denham Wolf Real Estate Services (Denham Wolf), a trusted real estate advisor serving the nonprofit community across New York City and beyond, worked closely with its partner SAJ to identify a tenant that would fit with the group’s long-term mission and plan. The 2.25-year lease will give SAJ time to find a new partner, such as a school or another religious institution, that can take full advantage of the building’s classrooms, administrative offices, and multipurpose rooms over the course of a long-term lease.

“By finding SAJ a short-term tenant and providing Calvary Baptist Church’s congregation a perfect home while their church is rebuilt, this lease keeps both organizations on the path toward achieving their missions,” said Lauren Davis, Director of Occupier Services at Denham Wolf. “We look forward to our continued work with SAJ as we find the right organization to serve as a long-term tenant and partner.”

Lauren Davis, Cameron Tuttle, and Christopher Turner of Denham Wolf represented SAJ in the deal. Calvary Baptist Church was represented by Stephen Sunderland of Optimal Spaces.