In Austin's highly competitive housing market, it can seems like buyers need divine intervention to find and land the home they want.

When that home is a condo built in a former church building, it might feel even like an answered prayer.

Buyers closed their sale this week on the unusual condo in the former St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church, a 1939 Mission Revival-style structure that was transformed into four condominiums in 2018. The property is at  211 W. Johanna St., just off South Congress and in the popular Bouldin neighborhood.

The condo, with 1,889 square feet of space, was listed for $1.4 million, and sold for $1.5 million, said Aaron Scruggs. He and his wife, Julianna Scruggs, are the listing agents with Kuper Sotheby's International Realty who represented the sellers.

The residence was a second home for the sellers, who owned the unit in a trust, he said. The seller is listed in the Travis Central Appraisal District as the Jefferies LIving Trust and the property is valued at just under $1.2 million.  The unit also was purchased in a trust, with the buyers' names undisclosed and a deed record not yet on file.

Thomas Joseph, a partner with Joseph Design Build, represented the buyers in the purchase.

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"The young couple buying the home work remotely so having a well lit voluminous space was key," Joseph said. "The location was the second big draw, and the proximity to (South Congress) makes for a perfect live-work experience that embodies the spirit of the new south Austin."

In 2019, another unit in the former church was listed for sale at $859,000.

Aaron Scruggs said it was no surprise the condo was snapped up after only eight days on the market.

"In a city lacking historical architecture, this condo is a breath of fresh air," he said.

The four residences in the former church building are nestled in the center of a condo regime called the J. Bouldin Residences. Two separate buildings sit on each side; one building has six townhomes, and the other has 29 condominiums, Aaron Scruggs said.

The property formerly was the South Austin home of the nonprofit Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin, which sold the property for $2.75 million in 2014.

The unit that sold has Bertazzoni appliances, white oak floors, herringbone marble tile,  18-foot ceilings and cathedral windows harkening to the church's past.

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"The property is great example of the revitalization we're experience in Ausitn’s infill neighborhoods," Joseph said.

Joseph said the church was a "protected historical component" in redeveloping the structure. That meant the exterior design, materials and fenestration (the arrangement of windows, doors and openings in the facade) "had to remain the same but the interior was allowed to be reimagined into something functional and unique. That balance of old meets new brings a sense of permanence and character to the community."

The architect on the condo-conversion project was Rhode: Partners. The Austin-based architecture firm has designed numerous high-profile projects, including the Independent, a 58-story high-rise condo tower in downtown Austin that is often referred to as the "Jenga tower" for its stacked, offset design.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: South Austin condo in remodeled church sells for $1.5 million