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Hallelujah! Church Is Reborn as a Stunning 9K Custom Home

When Realtor® Denise Cash came across an abandoned church that belonged to the city of Oakdale, CA, it took just one glimpse inside the place for her to see the light.

The bones of the building were beautiful, and the price was worthy of a hallelujah. Cash quickly learned that Oakdale would give her the structure built in 1893 for a measly $1—as long as she could move it. No prob!

The city bought the disused church in 2015 with dreams of expanding City Hall, according to the Modesto Bee. But those plans never came to pass, and instead the city wanted to use the land for a parking lot.

Cash recalls her first experience with the old house of worship: “You walk in, and it’s those huge, 20-something-foot ceilings. It was chipped and cracked and needed lots of love, but I could picture it turning into a great room concept with a large kitchen. I could see that part of it.”

She could also see builder Allen Martin doing the renovation work. Cash had sold many of Martin’s custom homes over the years. He agreed to take on the project, although he had just retired days before.

While the structure itself cost Cash a slim buck, moving it five blocks to a lot Martin purchased cost over $40,000. It also took months of planning to work out the logistics. (In the San Francisco Bay Area, a similar city-owned home also for sale for $1 met a less fortunate fate.)

The move last spring was an event in and of itself, Cash recalls. After all, it’s not every day you see a church being rolled down a city block. Workers temporarily removed the church steeple as well as the utility cables along the street.

Once the church was positioned on its new lot, a traditional renovation ensued. With no updates for decades, everything within the church had to be redone, from pipes to paint and wiring.

Martin reused original materials wherever possible. Bricks from the building’s old foundation now make up a stone path. The Douglas fir flooring was refinished. A church door is now the entry to the master suite.

Wood from a raised platform was repurposed for cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, which also features a marble-topped counter that Cash picked out herself. There’s also a wine fridge, farm-style sink, and stainless-steel appliances.

That great room Cash envisioned? It is now a high-impact stunner. There’s also a master suite and a junior suite, both with bathrooms and closets.

There’s also loft space that could be an office or library.  All told, there’s a little over 2,500 square feet of living space. The steeple was restored, and the church bell even works with a rope that can be pulled from inside the house.

Locals were invited to see the transformation at an open house fundraiser in late December. Cash, who charged each attendee $25, raised $8,500 for a children’s charity.

After Christmas, Cash listed the two-bedroom, three-bath home for $469,000. She received a call the next day, and the listing is now in pending status.

“It was really hard work,” Cash says. “But for me, I loved every minute of it. It was just so great that we could save the church. We turned it into a beautiful home. The city didn’t have to tear down a historic church.”

She adds, “It’s been a win-win for everyone involved.” Can we get an amen?

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