A Rebirth of Danbury’s First Church Preserves Its Future

(DANBURY, CONN. February 4, 2025) – The First Congregational Church of Danbury and Deer Hill Regency, LLC formalized their Preservation Partnership. The agreement was overwhelmingly approved by the congregation during a special meeting on December 22, 2024. The contract was signed the next day by Heidi Palmer, moderator of the First Congregational Church of Danbury, and Robert Botelho, who owns Deer Hill Regency. (Photo L-R: Rev. Dr. Pat Kriss, Robert Botelho, Heidi Palmer present the signed contract between the First Congregational Church and Deer Hill Regency.)

The agreement transfers all of the buildings and real estate parcels that the church owned at 162-164 Deer Hill Avenue to Deer Hill Regency. In exchange, the First Congregational Church will continue to worship and conduct services and programs there in perpetuity. The church will once again become the Meeting House for activities in the community. The buildings and property are located across the street from Danbury City Hall.

“I joined this church 50 years ago because everyone has a voice; I was respected as an individual,” Ms. Palmer said. “As moderator of this church, I’m delighted that we’ll be around so that more people in Danbury can discover that they too are important, have a voice, and someone will listen to them. The fellowship here is unsurpassed.”

FAQs: Click here to get answers to frequently asked questions about the Preservation Partnership.

“When the Search Committee asked me to be their pastor of this historic church, my number one direction was to ‘save our church,’” Rev. Dr. Pat Kriss recalled. She has been the Senior Pastor here since 2012. “The Preservation Partnership is the realization of that commitment.

A Rebirth that Preserves and Builds

Under the agreement, Mr. Botelho has committed to make major improvements to the church building, as well as the offices and the former school attached to it. Construction is underway and the church leadership looks forward to showing it’s new capabilities.

“My vision is to take this iconic, beautiful church so that it can become a true meeting house for Danbury,” said Robert Botelho, President of Deer Hill Regency. “I have spoken with so many people in this community who have had positive experiences at this church. I hope they will come to the church’s grand re-opening and see more possibilities.”

Improvements will allow the congregation to continue their worship services in the sanctuary, and serve greater Danbury as a cultural, interfaith and community center.

Improvements currently underway include:

• Handicapped-accessible bathroom on the first floor.
• The Bride’s Salon and separate Groom’s room to accommodate the bride and her wedding party prior to the service. The First Congregational Church is a premier wedding venue.
• Beautifully updated and reasonably priced meeting rooms available for rent by the  community. The rooms in the former church school are designed to accommodate the needs of the community: receptions for weddings, community gatherings, concerts, baptisms, memorial services and funerals, meeting space for non-profits, other churches and more.
• An expanded thrift shop that will enable the congregation to serve the community with high-quality clothes and home merchandise at easily accessible prices.

New Senior Housing for Danbury

The former parsonage next to the church will be replaced with senior housing and will be known as The Deer Hill Regency. The new seven-story, brick exterior building will complement the church’s Georgian architecture, including the Palladian-style windows on the building’s front face. Residents will have exclusive access to underground parking. Apartment sizes will range from 864 to 1,088 square feet. Each unit will include a kitchen, dining area, living room, full bath, master bedroom, den and a private exterior balcony. (Photos, left and above: Architect's rendering of the Deer Hill Regency next to the existing First Congregational Church.)

A Place to Grow and Be Heard

Programs at the First Congregational Church of Danbury are open to everyone in the greater Danbury community. In addition to Sunday worship, the church offers free movie nights, a thrift shop with high-quality clothes, accessories, housewares, books, music DVDs and more at affordable prices. Our Deer Hill Thrift Shop also rents costumes to theater programs at area schools and non-profits. The thrift shop often helps families after house fires or homeless people to acquire the donated clothing and housewares they need at no cost.

Significant family events – weddings, baptism, funerals, memorial services, birthday and anniversary parties – are also available to the Danbury community

Space in our former church school is available for rent. We invite community-based and faith-based organizations to explore opportunities to host their events or meetings in these rooms. Current tenants include Alcoholics Anonymous, WestConn Toastmasters, a Seventh Day Adventist congregation, and Hindu meditation for seniors.

Our sanctuary is an affordable and sought-after concert venue with extraordinary acoustics that features regular performances from the Danbury Music Centre, and Connecticut Master Chorale, and other performance groups.

Founded in 1696, the First Congregational Church of Danbury is a community of people who come together to serve God the way that Jesus did -- by working to make God’s vision of a peaceful, just and inclusive world a reality.

The church is a member of the United Church of Christ that believes God is still speaking in ways that are grounded in ancient Christian understandings, but which are fresh expressions of the Divine presence in contemporary life. The doors of First Church are open to anyone who seeks a safe community that accepts them as they are.

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