Historic CT church building state paid $2.3M for is sold for $750,000. What’s next for it.

A historic, but long-vacant building on a prominent corner near the state Capitol in Hartford will get another life as a church, the structure’s original use when it was erected nearly a century ago. Vox Church , a non-denominational church with 11 locations in Connecticut and southern Massachusetts, announced late Tuesday it had acquired the former Second Church of Christ, Scientist at 129 Lafayette St. from the state of Connecticut.

The church acquired the building for $750,000, according to church spokesman Dave Bruno. The state paid $2.3 million for the property in 2007 under then-Gov.

Jodi Rell, but the state never found a viable use for it. The state Department of Administrative Services, which handles sales of state properties, could not immediately be reached for comment. Bruno said he did not have an estimate for what the church intended to invest in much-needed renovations.

Architects are now designing the project aimed at a cost-effective renovation that will preserve the historic, architectural beauty of the Classical and Georgian-Revival structure and make the four-story building energy efficient, Bruno said. The church expects to occupy the church between nine and 12 months after renovations begin, Bruno said. The building will serve as a permanent location for Sunday services to accommodate growing attendance in the city and it also will become a hub to serve the greater Hartford community.

The Christian church began Sunday services in 2016 in Hartford and cu.