A regional lender engaged The McEnery Company to provide an AS IS opinion of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, a religious facility situated on the aggregate sum of numerous leasehold and fee simple estates totaling in excess of 16 acres in a fully developed neighborhood of New Orleans. The existing facility is an 88,160 square foot religious facility that opened in June of 2004. The improvements are in overall excellent condition and include a 16,484 square foot sanctuary, as well as office and classroom space on three floors of finished space. In addition, there is also a Leased Fee Interest through a cell tower lease with a telecommunications company. The tower is strategically placed within the church steeple. In addition to the leased fee and leasehold estates, the valuation analysis required a careful pairing of localized comparable land sales and improved sales with sales of mega church or like-kind religious facilities from within the broader regional marketplace. This assignment was one of our first opportunities to work on a mega church facility, and the client was very pleased with the form and findings of our work product.
