Landmark church in peril

Theyre praying for the immaculate construction.

Preservationists hope a Manhattan developer set to buy one of Harlems most beautiful churches will save it.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church on West 118th Street (pictured) has sat empty for nine years since the New York Archdiocese shuttered it in 2003.

Efforts to landmark the hulking neo-Gothic structure built in 1907 failed, and the building, which was recently covered in scaffolding, has been in limbo ever since.

The archdiocese is in contract to sell the property and two others to Artimus Construction in a $6 million deal, according to papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Paul Rocheleau

The documents give no hint of Artimus plans. The archdiocese declined to comment.

Peg Breen, of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, praised Artimus Construction. If this developer is true to its track record, it could be very good news, she said.

But locals were less sure of the impending sale, which requires court approval.

I presume theyre selling it to knock it down, said Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council.

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Landmark church in peril