NORTH PRAIRIE — While he may not be the most religious man, Dan Majewski is answering a call to preserve and renovate old churches into homes.
The contractor and realtor owns a Baptist church in Big Bend, a Catholic church in Belgium, and a Methodist church in North Prairie.
He lives in the Baptist church and the other two are properties he is flipping.
“I tell family members often I’m doing gods work. They laugh at me because of my lack of going to church, but it is kind of how I relate to or feel like I’m doing gods work in it," Majewski said.
He got the idea in 2020. He was having a tough time looking for new homes to buy, renovate, and sell. The COVID pandemic raised the prices of homes.
"Everything was assessed or selling for 30 to 50 grand more than it was assessed for, and as a flipper at the time, I'm not going to pay that. I'm not going to have a profit at the end of it," he said.
That's when he took a chance on his first home in Big Bend. He and his wife liked it so much, they decided to live in it.
As he was putting the final touches on his Baptist church turned home, his realtor gave him a call about a Catholic church for sale 6098 Lake Church Road in Belgium, which is between Port Washington and Sheboygan. He put in an offer immediately. His bid was accepted, and he got to work right away.
It’s listed at $618,000. The Catholic Church turned home is 5,700 square feet with 36-foot high ceilings, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, with a 3.5 car garage on 1.5 acres. Plus, there are tons of stained glass windows.
He held an open house for the community to see the changes he made. While he expected just a few dozen people to come during the four-hour period, hundreds of people came.
"We were just astounded, and everybody came up to us thanking me for what I had done, and not raising the property, not knocking it down. And seeing what it became, they even took pictures. They were like we were married right here, and they ended up turning their backs to us, having us take a picture of them, so they could have the before and after," Majewski said.
He only had pushback from the former priest of the Catholic church. Otherwise, everyone has been very open to his changes.
Coming off the heels of the Belgium home refurbishment, he decided to purchase another church at 107 North Main Street in North Prairie, which is in Waukesha County.
“The lack of other properties out there, and the push, the drive, something inside me that I wanted to do it.”
In 4-6 months, the Methodist church will be done and listed for around $495,000. It’s 5,000 square feet, 2 full baths, 2 half baths, and a brand new 2.5 car garage.
While churches make for unique homes, they have one advantage over traditional houses.
“Everyone wants the open concept, so going into a smaller house it’s very difficult.”
Churches by their nature are open concepts with large halls and rooms. You don’t have to take down columns or load-bearing walls. He can put a kitchen, dining room, and even a living room where the pews would normally sit. Majewski hopes the open space concept and novelty of these homes attract buyers.
In fact, Majewski has even won two awards for his work on these churches. The Daughters of the American Revolution recognized him for his commitment to maintaining the historic integrity of the churches.
As to whether he will keep buying churches and renovating them into homes is yet to be determined. It depends on how Belgium and North Prairie homes sell first.
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