Auction Set for Historic Binghamton Church Building

A downtown Binghamton building that had been home to a church for nearly six decades will be up for auction next month.

City Church moved from the site at 255 Washington Street last September. The church relocated to a former shopping complex on Main Street on the city's West Side.

The three-story downtown building opened in 1917 as the Kalurah Temple. It served as a temporary home for the forerunner of SUNY Broome Community College from 1951 to 1956.

The First Assembly of God held its first church service at the site in May 1957. The church rebranded itself as "City Church" several years ago.

City Church had sought buyers for its three buildings and two parking lots downtown.

Johnson City-based Family Enrichment Network acquired two of the properties for $2.5 million in May 2024. But there has been no buyer for the large church building at the corner of Washington and Clinton streets.

The original asking price for that property was $1 million. The starting bid for the upcoming auction will be $150,000.

Brian Kaplan of the Marcus and Millichap real estate firm said the bidding in the online auction is scheduled to begin on June 22.

A listing of some "landmark properties" on the Binghamton government website describes the building as "one of the most outstanding structures in the City."

Representatives of City Church could not be reached Wednesday to comment on the efforts to sell the Washington Street site.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A look at the exterior of the former City Church building at 255 Washington Street on May 13, 2026.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A brief tour inside the new City Church facility on Main Street in Binghamton shortly before it opened last summer.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @bobjoseph.bsky.social on Bluesky or @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.