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Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Image 2 of 39 And by day. Photos: the home co inc.com And by day. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 3 of 39 Facade that was.. before. Photos: the home co inc.com Facade that was.. before. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 4 of 39 Entry. Photos: the home co inc.com Entry. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 5 of 39 Image 6 of 39 Long hallway inside. Photos: the home co inc.com Long hallway inside. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 7 of 39 great room with high, high ceilings. Photos: the home co inc.com great room with high, high ceilings. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 8 of 39 former great room. Photos: the home co inc.com former great room. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 9 of 39 Dine with some awesome wallpaper. Photos: the home co inc.com Dine with some awesome wallpaper. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 10 of 39 Image 11 of 39 Close up of this pattern. Photos: the home co inc.com Close up of this pattern. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 12 of 39 Kitchen- bohemian chic. Photos: the home co inc.com Kitchen- bohemian chic. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 13 of 39 More open floorplan views. Photos: the home co inc.com More open floorplan views. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 14 of 39 Half bath on first floor. Photos: the home co inc.com Half bath on first floor. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 15 of 39 Image 16 of 39 Lots of light in living room. Photos: the home co inc.com Lots of light in living room. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 17 of 39 Down to the studs. Photos: the home co inc.com Down to the studs. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 18 of 39 Fireplace. Photos: the home co inc.com Fireplace. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 19 of 39 Wider view of hearth and home Photos: the home co inc.com Wider view of hearth and home Photos: the home co inc.com Image 20 of 39 Image 21 of 39 View from upstairs. Photos: the home co inc.com View from upstairs. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 22 of 39 Those tall ceilings... before! Photos: the home co inc.com Those tall ceilings... before! Photos: the home co inc.com Image 23 of 39 Upper level sitting area. Photos: the home co inc.com Upper level sitting area. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 24 of 39 upper level... before! Photos: the home co inc.com upper level... before! Photos: the home co inc.com Image 25 of 39 Image 26 of 39 1 of 4 beds. Photos: the home co inc.com 1 of 4 beds. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 27 of 39 Bath. Photos: the home co inc.com Bath. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 28 of 39 Another bed. Photos: the home co inc.com Another bed. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 29 of 39 Laundry area. Photos: the home co inc.com Laundry area. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 30 of 39 Image 31 of 39 Master. Photos: the home co inc.com Master. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 32 of 39 Another view. Photos: the home co inc.com Another view. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 33 of 39 Master bath. Photos: the home co inc.com Master bath. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 34 of 39 4th bedroom Photos: the home co inc.com 4th bedroom Photos: the home co inc.com Image 35 of 39 Image 36 of 39 Sitting area in bedroom. Photos: the home co inc.com Sitting area in bedroom. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 37 of 39 Patio. Photos: the home co inc.com Patio. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 38 of 39 Green space in backyard. Photos: the home co inc.com Green space in backyard. Photos: the home co inc.com Image 39 of 39 Before-and-after miracle: Once derelict church, now striking Oakland home 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Once an abandoned and derelict church, 751 47th Street now has a new life, and is listed on the Oakland market for $899,000.

The listing agent in this case, Jen Montague Clark, is also the owner. She and her husband Steve Clark, himself a contractor with RFC Renovations, bought the property in 2013 with an eye for remodeling and selling it, but in the process, also preserving what they could. Montague told On the Block that 751 47th St. was formerly a Baptist Church.

“The pastor raised funds to expand it, but then he overspent on the expansion and allowed it to get foreclosed upon by his bank,” she explained. “It was on the market for about six months ,and a complete blight on the community, when we bought it from the bank as an REO.”

Modernize and preserve

The goal in their renovation was to modernize and convert the church into a single-family home. They wanted to establish a style reflecting the fresh style Oakland’s Temescal buyers want, but at the same time honoring the original structure as much as possible.

“The City of Oakland was accommodating to turn it back into a single family home because the street is mainly residential and there is no parking on site for a congregation, so they felt having it as a family home was the best use for the property,” Jen said. “We could have torn it down and built multiple residential units, but we wanted to preserve it.”

And since we’re talking about a preserved church, the home enjoys 22-foot-high “sky” ceilings, along with new features such as four bedrooms, three bathrooms, transparent cat walk between upper and lower levels, artisan wallpaper, herringbone masonry, free-standing soaking tub in the master, and electric car–charging station in garage — among other amenities you’ll see in the gallery above.

HGTV, here we come

The renovation, accomplished by Jen and her contractor husband caught the eye of HGTV’s Radical Renovations. Here’s a teaser below… and if you want to see a bit more of the “before” version on the church, we’ve got that too in the gallery. Hallelujah!

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert.