Hot Property: Southie church split up into 20 luxury condos

Luxury condos in the former St. Augustines Church in South Boston have hit the market, offering buyers an opportunity to live in new, modern units amid high Victorian Gothic architecture, with soaring ceilings and arched windows.

Twenty two- and three-bedroom condos are taking shape in the former Catholic church on Dorchester Street each of them two or three levels and another nine one-bedrooms will occupy the attached former rectory. Prices range from $649,000 to $1.29 million for the roughly 1,000- to 2,000-square-foot units.

After four months of demolition work, the property is still under construction, with an Aug. 31 scheduled completion date by owner Brenco Construction of Milton.

Condo interiors wont have exposed brick or stained glass windows, but the ornate arched frames will be preserved and fitted with new custom windows including a massive one in the penthouses lobby that will provide views of the Boston skyline and landmark buildings such as the John Hancock tower.

Its going to have a contemporary feel inside, said Jacob Carlin, the propertys exclusive listing agent and the owner of JW Brokerage in South Boston. The church was in such disrepair that it was hard to try and save some things.

Features will include hardwood floors, tile bathrooms, professional-grade, stainless steel appliances, granite kitchen countertops, surround sound, walk-in closets and in-unit laundry hookups. Master baths will have walk-in showers with glass surrounds, while the guest baths will have soaking tubs and showers.

Garage parking is being added underneath the church in its former function hall, and residents will have an elevator and access to a clubroom with a kitchenette, surround sound and a flat-screen television.

Built in 1874, the church was designed by Patrick Charles Keely, an Irish-born architect heralded as the most prolific designer of Catholic churches, with more than 600 to his credit, including the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End and more than 30 others in Massachusetts. Under mounting financial pressure, the Archdiocese of Boston closed St. Augustines in 2004, and the citys Landmarks Commission denied a petition to designate it as a landmark.

The former churchs red-brick facade is being preserved and will be repointed, and the slate roof will be maintained. The massive center entrance with its wooden doors and ornamental iron fixtures also will be preserved.

Obviously the architecture of the church is something we could never replicate now it would be too expensive, Carlin said.

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Hot Property: Southie church split up into 20 luxury condos