BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ALPINE, N.J.—A last-ditch fundraising effort by a group of former church
members to purchase the historic 150-year-old Alpine Community Church will soon get underway, a member told Northern Valley Press.
The historic church, now for sale along with nearby property for $3.45 million by Greater United Methodist Church of New Jersey, was awarded to the Methodist organization following a protracted court battle in 2015.
The church fell into disuse by former Alpine Community Church members following the legal battle’s outcome and was put up for sale by the Greater United Methodist Church in late 2018.
A fundraising letter will soon go out to residents in hopes of
purchasing and preserving the church and its grounds, which
contain a church burial ground.
For over four months, the 150-year-old Alpine Community Church—one of the most historic structures in Alpine—has been on the market for $3.45 million, which includes the church, a parking lot, a single-family house used as a parsonage and a community center across the street.
To many residents, the church represents Alpine and is one of its most prominent landmarks. The church served as a design backdrop for illustrator Thomas Nast’s unique Christmas cards he created in the late 19th century.
When news that the historic church was up for sale and could end up demolished or the site of oversized single-family homes, it created a stir among residents and public officials—and continues to be a sore point with residents and especially a small group of Alpine Community Church members.
Could $800K buy it?
Hoping to get back what they lost in a legal battle only four years ago, nearly a dozen church members, led by Charles Yannetti, president, board of trustees, are undertaking an outreach effort and fundraising appeal to Alpine’s over 800 residents asking them to donate $1,000 each to help the church purchase back its former home.
Yannetti, a former Alpine police officer, is a Cresskill resident.
Yannetti said though the property—approximately 3.19 acres— is being marketed for $3.45 million since it was listed in late November, he hopes that future negotiations may enable the former members to purchase the church separately.
Yannetti said residents he speaks with now often do not know the history of the church, or that the structure is not protected from a developer purchasing it and demolishing it.
Although the church is listed on state and national historic registers, and resides in a local historic district, those designations note its historical significance but do not offer legal protection should a developer purchase the property, he said.
He said one person familiar with real estate values said the church might be sold separately for $800,000, although he was not certain of current estimated value.
Some estimates have put the church’s independent market value between $500,000 and $800,000, with lower valuations based on the historic church’s environmental constraints, lack of a bathroom, lack of a septic system and an on-site burial ground.
Yannetti said the ashes of about 10 to 12 former deceased members are buried beneath paving stones in the church’s rear yard, a factor that may affect future use of the property. He said he was not sure of how long the remains have been entombed on site.
800 donations sought
“There are more than 800 homes in Alpine and if each household would be so generous as to commit to a tax-deductible donation of $1,000, a great possibility exists that the friends of The Alpine Community Church will make this purchase happen and allow the doors of the [church] to be opened once again,” Yannetti writes in an appeal letter he plans to disseminate to residents.
He said the former Alpine Community Church members created a GoFundMe website to raise funds for purchasing, although as of March 25 only $270 of a projected $1 million goal had been raised. He noted one reason for the underwhelming response was an apparent lack of awareness about the church’s history.
Yannetti said he thought the low fund-raising total was because most residents did not know about the imminent sale of one of Alpine’s most important historic structures, and he said a letter asking residents for financial assistance to “save” the church will soon arrive in local mailboxes.
“We have been told that the sale of the [Alpine Community] Church has been hampered by the fact that there is an area behind the church where former members have been interred, along with problems with installing a septic system,” emailed Yannetti.
He said he did not yet see any actions by the borough, Planning Board or local historic commission—formed a few years ago—to protect or preserve the historic church structure.
Following a legal dispute four years ago, the property including the church, parsonage and a nearby community center was awarded to Greater United Methodist Church of New Jersey, a legal decision that rankled then Alpine Community Church members who had been using the church for services for decades but lacked legal paperwork to certify property ownership.
In 2015, about 20 members of Alpine Community Church fought a legal battle for ownership and “self-governance” of the land and property with United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey and lost.
According to a statement issued in June 2015, United Methodist Church officials met with Alpine Community Church members to “explore ways that the church can move forward in the wake of a court ruling about property rights.”
Those were not successful, said a United Methodist Church spokeswoman, Carolyn Conover.
Conover told Northern Valley Press in December that “we never want to see a church close; however, when it does, it is our responsibility to steward the resources entrusted to The United Methodist Church to support mission and ministry in the region and around the world.”
While many properties in Alpine—including Alpine Community Church—reside in an Upper Closter/Alpine historic district, the district designation provides little protection should a property owner wish to demolish the property, say local historians.
Only designating a property as historical through a local process of nomination and designation can ultimately protect a historic structure’s facade and its historical elements.
Although Alpine passed an ordinance in December 2016 creating a historical preservation commission—which could recommend such designations—it was not clear why no current commission exists.
Just recently, two historic homes in Montclair—both renovated and updated—were demolished to make way for a mega-mansion despite local protests and efforts to protect them.
Efforts to reach a real estate agent for Sotheby’s Prominent Properties marketing the property were not returned by press time.
Moreover, requests for comment on the church’s proposed sale to Conover were not returned by press time.