St. Jude's Church in Derby. The photo was from the parish website.
DERBY — The former St. Jude Church was recently sold for $3.1 million to a Milford-based Christian church.
A deed of sale was filed in the office of Derby Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo on Dec. 13.
The new owner of the buildings and its surrounding 16 acres at 71 Pleasant View Rd. is listed as Cornerstone Christian Center, Inc., with an address at 349 Wheelers Farm Road in Milford.
The Valley Indy left several messages with Cornerstone Christian Center Pastor Alfred Watts but was unable to get questions answered. Thomas Lynch, the attorney representing the Christian center, referred inquires about the sale to Watts.
According to its website, Cornerstone Christian Center is a multicultural church. Watts, a New Haven native, was a former corporate lawyer in New York City, before becoming senior pastor of the church in 2001.
The Derby property went on the market last January, where it was listed for $1.3 million. The property includes a 12,400-square foot, two-story building with a lower-level banquet hall, commercial kitchen and bathrooms that served as the main church for St. Jude for decades. There is also a second, 4,100-square foot building on the property, as well as a paved parking lot.
There is also a cell tower on the site, but it was not immediately known if the cell tower was part of the sale.
The property has an assessed value of $2.5 million, according to the latest data available from Derby’s Assessor’s office.
The property is zoned as public/semi-public and permitted uses include houses of worship, nursing homes, noncommercial recreation facilities, unspecified municipal uses, public parks and single-family houses.
The property’s listing agent, Henry Healey, of Coldwell Banker, did not return a phone call seeking comment about the sale.
Mayor Richard Dziekan and his chief of staff, Walt Mayhew, said they are not aware of future plans for the property.
Mayhew said the city will have its new economic development director reach out to officials from Cornerstone Christian Center after the new year.
“The property is extensive and certainly beyond what the previous church’s needs were regarding a facility,” Mayhew said via an email. “After the New Year, we will likely have our EDD reach out to see if the church will be retaining the property as is or is open to development options. If so, we would like to see any development be consistent with the existing neighborhoods and would be willing to help facilitate that.”
St. Jude’s held its final church services in early January. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story.
