The Promise of Place: Surplus Church Property as a Vehicle for Affordable Housing
August 28, 2026
Affordable housing is out of reach for many Americans, resulting in housing insecurity and homelessness. Catholic Charities USA, in partnership with church leaders and philanthropists, seeks to highlight an underutilized solution to this issue: leveraging surplus church property to generate new units of affordable housing.
While the Catholic Church has been an active voice and housing provider over the years, there appears to be a renewed interest in revitalizing communities now. Homelessness and housing insecurity can decrease by mobilizing the property, history, and power of this network of people of faith and goodwill.
This paper addresses the promise of place at the heart of faith communities’ relationship to their sacred spaces and land. It explores how place and proximity to neighbors are presented in Scripture, church teaching, and encyclicals, while also drawing on the fields of sociology, political science, and urban studies to engage with issues of access and equity.
related publications
Surplus Church Property
The “Paths to Project Development” series presents examples of successful conversions of surplus church property into affordable housing units.
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