Condos enliven spirit of the space

Phil Lamb, a former New York City developer, was looking for a unique building to remodel into condominiums when his realtor drove him through Union Square and past the brick First United Methodist Church.

With just one visit, he knew the neglected church would be a perfect place to create a community for himself, his wife, and a few close friends.

‘‘How could you resist this?’’ he said recently, peering up at the Gothic and Queen Anne-style church and throwing his arms into the air. ‘‘It was hard to turn down.’’

But there was nothing particularly inspiring about the interior, which had been carved into of- fice space, Lamb said. Still, he believed that the building, constructed in 1858, ‘‘lent itself to something extraordinarily special.’’ He just needed to hollow it into ‘‘a giant shell’’ and start from scratch.

The church’s designation as a historical building prevented any significant changes to the exterior. During window repairs, Lamb kept the top part of the Gothic etched-glass windows intact to maintain the look of the church.

But Lamb started from scratch inside, gutting the interior. In developing seven condominium units, he highlighted the tall ceilings, which stretch 65 feet to the top of the church in a striking four-story loft in one of the units, which he is selling for $4 million.

Designed by architect Peter Quinn and designer James Stanton- Abbott, the interior is a combination of classic details and modern styling. Victoria I, Lamb’s wife, worked with the designer to create unique modern kitchens and bathrooms in each of the condos and chose a soothing palette of paint colors.

Lamb, 68, said the building’s previous life as a church did little for him. ‘‘I don’t have a spiritual bone in my body,’’ he said.

But four years ago, after his contractors knocked down walls, removed the tin organ, and pulled out the balconies, the place came to life for him. ‘‘All that empty space — that was awe-inspiring,’’ he said.

Anil Gullapalli, a doctor who bought one of the units and recently moved in, said its 9-foot windows, 16-foot ceilings, and spiritual past appealed to him. ‘‘How can you go wrong with 100 years of prayers being absorbed inside these walls? It can only be good,’’ said Gullapalli, a Hindu who was born in India.

I, Lamb’s wife, said she wouldn’t have gone along with the project if the church had last been used as a place of worship. Too many people might have had bad feelings about that, she surmised. But the church, which was owned by the Somerville Community Corporation, served as office space for community organizations for the last three decades, and that, she believed, gave it ‘‘a lot of good energy.’’

At one time, it also had a soup kitchen and a food pantry. I said the couple called numerous meetings to take input from the neighbors about the project and promised to build underground parking to allay concerns about where the new residents would park. She said they have kept neighbors up to date on the renovations, which have taken more than three years, and neighbors, in turn, have been supportive of the project.

‘‘They peek in and ask us how things are going,’’ she said. Gullapalli said he regularly meets people who attended meetings at the church and recently met two women who had worked in the building. One of them informed him that his condo was located underneath the sanctuary.

When Lamb and I hosted an open house a month ago, they invited their neighbors, including the 70- and 80-year-old women who drink coffee every morning across the street at Sunny’s Deli, where owner Fredrick Federico has watched the renovation unfold. Several neighbors, said Lamb, were stunned when they walked into the building’s new entrance, which Lamb had reconfigured as an inviting blue lobby with a marble fireplace.

‘‘It’s a neat project,’’ said Brandon Wilson, the executive director of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission. ‘‘We were thrilled when [Lamb] agreed to take on the building.’’

In January, Lamb and I moved into the largest of the condos, a four-story space with nearly 6,000 square feet. One floor features soaring 45-foot ceilings, 16-foot windows, an open layout with a modern kitchen, and a winding staircase that leads to a fourth floor study. Here they regularly host drinks or dinner for friends, including two who have moved into the building.

As Lamb offered a tour of the place and talked about the choices he made during the project, he tried to explain why he undertook this project, which has monopolized his time for three years and, he said, cost him $6.2 million. ‘‘I always feel that everything I do is the last time I’ll do it,’’ he said. ‘‘Maybe I do have a spiritual bone.’’