Has a new owner

The former First United Church of Waterford on Third Street is being sold for $100,000 to a local businessman.

The former First United Church of Waterford on Third Street is being sold for $100,000 to a local businessman.

Maqsood Nathu is paying $100,000 for the former church building, which held its last service in August, according to the property listing with Coldwell Banker Prime Properties.

The building was originally listed for $145,000, although a comparison done by the Albany Presbytery of other local church building transactions found that the $100,000 price was in a typical price range, according to documents filed by the church organization in state Supreme Court in Albany this month.

Carolyn Snyder Lemmon, an attorney representing the Albany Presbytery, said that the First United Church in Waterford had decided to dissolve earlier this year and that two church properties were being sold. The sale of the main church worship hall at 61 Third St. requires approval from a state judge under state regulations. The other building

being sold was the parsonage.

The Albany Presbytery is a part of the national organization of the Presbyterian Church and oversees dozen of local congregations.

The First United Church of Waterford was actually a result of a merger of a Baptist and a Presbyterian congregation, and so half of the proceeds of the sale of the worship hall will go to the regional council of the American Baptist Church and the other half to the Albany Presbytery, which will use the money it gets for maintaining other church buildings.

The sale documents indicate the building is zoned for residential or office or retail space. Nathu could not immediately be reached for comment, although real estate records show he owns other rental properties in Waterford.