As a leader of a religious institute, you carry the sacred responsibility of stewarding not only the spiritual well-being of your community but also the physical resources entrusted to your care. Among these, your buildings and land, once vibrant with activity, may now feel too large, too quiet, or simply underused. You may find yourself asking, “We have excess space. What do we do?”
This question is not just about property. It’s about mission, legacy, and the future well-being of your members. It’s about aligning your resources with your values. While the path forward may feel uncertain, there are essential tools and insights that can help you begin this journey with clarity and confidence.
Understand your relationship with property
Before exploring tools or strategies, it’s important to reflect on how your community relates to its property. Religious institutes often hold multiple roles in relation to their buildings and land. You may be:
- A user, living and ministering in the space.
- An owner, responsible for its long-term care and decisions.
- An operator or manager, overseeing its day-to-day functioning.
- A landlord, leasing space to others.
Many communities find themselves in more than one of these roles at once.
Each relationship brings its own responsibilities — and its own emotional weight. For many members, these buildings hold memories of formation, celebration, and shared life. Letting go or changing their use can feel like a loss.
That’s why it’s so important to ground your discernment not only in data, but in values. To do so, consider three tools that help you see clearly.
1. Understand the true cost with property condition assessments
The first step is to understand what your space is costing you — not just the current operational costs, including utilities and maintenance, but also the upkeep and updates needed over the next three, five, and 10 years. A property condition assessment or similar documentation can provide a measurable, objective view of the capital improvements your property will require. This includes everything from roof repairs and parking lot replacement to HVAC systems. There may also be “hidden” costs for maintaining the property, including (but not limited to) various types of insurance coverage or compliance costs that should also be considered in this process. It is important that you are aware of any updates, upgrades, projects, and hidden or unexpected costs so you can anticipate the total costs of maintaining the property.
But the documentation alone is not enough. Once you understand your capital needs, these costs should be considered in light of your community’s reality. What is the cost per occupant? How does the cost per occupant compare with alternatives? Is the cost sustainable, relative to what you need to support the vocation and well-being of all of your members throughout their lives? This data helps you see the full picture — not just what the space is, but what it demands of you.
2. Discern the highest and best use
Once you understand the costs and what is needed from your space for your community’s future, the next step is to explore the possibilities. How could you use the space to its fullest potential? What could this space become? What are the implications of each option?
A highest and best use study will analyze the space and offer appropriate options along with a breakdown of potential implications. Some of the options for your excess space might include:
- Ignoring it and absorbing the financial and environmental costs.
- Leasing excess space to generate income.
- Repurposing it for ministry, community use, or internal needs.
- Selling or divesting, freeing up resources or generating funds for other priorities.
Each path has consequences, and one or more options might offer exciting opportunities. Leasing may bring in revenue but require renovations, a licensing process, or the discomfort of sharing the space with others who may have different values. Repurposing may align with your mission but stretch your capacity. Selling may feel like a loss and yet could be liberating. This is a time to imagine how your physical environment could be reshaped to serve your evolving needs.
The optimal use for your space is best informed by your mission, values, and financial reality. A trusted and experienced real estate advisor can help you discern this context to inform your property’s highest and best use.
3. Seek an appraisal
An appraisal offers a third-party perspective on the value of your property, typically based upon its most economically productive use. When paired with your exploration of highest and best use and property condition assessment, it becomes a powerful tool for evaluating what’s feasible.
It is important to note that the precise value of a property is ultimately determined by what a buyer is willing to pay, which can be more or less than the assessed value. Still, an appraisal offers a meaningful starting point, grounding your discernment in reality.
With the help of a trusted and experienced real estate advisor, an appraisal can help you weigh dreams against dollars, and possibilities against practicalities.
Consider the risks of inaction
While discernment takes time, inaction carries its own risks. Additionally, implementing action can require governmental approvals, permits, and building alterations or may be subject to unpredictable market conditions. Collectively, these delays can lead to:
- Escalating maintenance costs that strain your budget.
- Deferred repairs that become safety concerns.
- Wasted resources that could otherwise support your mission.
- Emotional fatigue as members live with uncertainty or deteriorating conditions.
- Missed opportunities to partner, serve, or invest in the future.
Without a plan, excess space can quietly drain your energy, finances, and focus. But with intentional steps, it can become a source of renewal, possibility, and generativity.
Ground your discernment in data and values
These tools — property condition assessment, highest and best use analysis, and appraisal — offer more than just information. They offer clarity. They allow you to move forward from a place of informed discernment.
This is not just an excess space question. It is a spiritual one. It is about stewardship, sustainability, and fidelity to your call. As you move forward, let your values be operative — not just spoken, but lived. Let them shape your priorities, your plans, and your path.
You are not alone in this. Many communities are walking this same road. With the right tools, an experienced guide, and a heart open to the Spirit, you can make decisions that honor your past, serve your present, and continue your mission in the future. Reach out to us to start a conversation, or visit our service page to learn how we can help.
