APPLE VALLEY — A property on Apple Valley Road that has aged beyond its useful life as a church building is on the market.
The Rev. Raymond Steichen of Sacred Heart Traditional Roman Catholic Church said he's seeking a new building for the church's 65 to 70 parishioners.
"It's too old to make use of as a church," he said of the building at 13878 Apple Valley Road.
But he won't move the parish until a replacement for the residential-zoned property can be lined up and the existing property sold, he said.
"I'm the owner, the boss and the priest," Steichen said.
The parcel is not being offered as a church property because it sits in a corridor ripe for development. The property zoned R-Eq, or residential equestrian, came on the market within the past week, listing agent David Wick with Marcus & Millichap said.
"The property is being offered as a land play" or to develop and sell and is listed at $750,000, Wick said. The 2.27-acre parcel can be subdivided for up to four homes or rezoned for other use, he said.
A smaller adjacent parcel with a residence is also offered for sale as part of the church's contemplated move.
Wick said he's working with Steichen to find a new home for the church nearby.
Sacred Heart is not part of the Diocese of San Bernardino and as a Traditional Catholic parish has preserved the traditions of the pre-Vatican II Tridentine or Latin Mass.