Matthew and DeAnna Spott had their children baptized at the former St. Michael’s Church in Simpson, and now, the Carbondale couple wants to preserve the century-old church while repurposing it for apartments.
“It’s the church that my in-laws and my wife had basically gone to forever, and it’s also the church where my children were baptized,” said Matthew Spott, 40, a Tunkhannock native now living in Carbondale with his wife, DeAnna. “I didn’t want it to be torn down, and I didn’t want it to become anything else. It’s a staple of our community.”
The Spotts purchased the shuttered church on Midland Street in Fell Twp.’s Simpson section from the Diocese of Scranton for $380,000 through their company SpoSho Investments LLC, according to a property transaction recorded June 3.
Although he is still working with architects and structural engineers, Matthew Spott anticipates converting the former church into 13 or 15 two-bedroom apartments. The apartments will have one or two bathrooms and will be about 800 to 900 square feet, with one unit at about 700 square feet, he said. Spott anticipates rent will be about $1,600 per month.
They will also rent out the rectory as a five-bedroom, five-bathroom house, Spott said.
He estimates the project will cost about $2 million, in addition to the nearly $400,000 purchase price.
“In terms of the structure itself, I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “It’s beautiful, and it’s going to create some unique apartments.”
The Diocese of Scranton closed the church last year amid its Vision 2030 restructuring plan that linked, consolidated or closed churches in the 11-county diocese amid fewer parishioners, financial challenges and parish infrastructure needs, and fewer numbers of ordained priests as retiring clergy outpace incoming ones.
St. Michael’s had been part of the St. Rose of Lima Parish in Carbondale, which linked and later consolidated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish to become Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.
The church held its final Mass on June 2, 2024, after it served the Simpson community for more than 121 years, according to the diocese.
Spott and his wife, who is a Carbondale native, made special requests to have their three children baptized at St. Michael’s when most baptisms were already happening at either St. Rose of Lima or Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Spott said, explaining their kids were some of the last children to be baptized in the building.
“I think that the coolest thing about this is that the building that my children were baptized in — all three of them — will someday be in their ownership,” he said.
Spott also wants to preserve the church.
“I’m trying to protect and preserve this church and make sure that it remains something beautiful that the community can be proud of,” he said.
With memorabilia left behind in the church after it was sold, Spott said he and his wife plan to open up the church for the community to come in, take pictures and see if they want to take home any souvenirs.
The church still has its dish collection from when it would rent out its basement and hold functions there, including still having plates, cups and saucers. The dishware appears hand painted, Spott said.
“We’d like to see that go into good hands, rather than just get thrown out,” he said, adding that he hopes no one sells what they get from the church. “If there is profit to be made, I hope that somebody would just give it to the parish.”
Spott also hopes to donate the church’s organ, which he said is still in beautiful condition. He is currently talking with Wilkes University about giving the organ to the university, which is where he received his Master of Business Administration degree.
If all goes to plan, Spott wants to begin construction before the end of July, ideally wrapping up in the spring or summer of 2026.
When the church is finished, Spott will resume work on his 7 on Seventh project in Carbondale that aims to convert a longtime eyesore at 7 Seventh Ave. into 25 townhouse-style units.
The former manufacturing facility was built in the early 20th century where it was used to produce lace and linen, and then later as a dress factory. Its final manufacturing use ended in the mid-1990s when Laurstan Inc., a light assembly metal manufacturing plant, closed. The building was subsequently donated to the Greater Carbondale Chamber of Commerce in 2000, with the then-chamber president aspiring to turn it into a museum with hands-on activities to showcase the region’s heritage, though that never materialized.
If construction begins in fall 2026 on 7 on Seventh, Spott said work could, optimistically, take about a year, with possible plans for a phased approach to open apartments as they work their way through the long building.
“The church is kind of a sentimental project,” Spott said. “Whereas 7 on Seventh — we can let our imaginations run wild and build something really unique.”