The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) will sell its historic Beacon Hill properties and move its national headquarters to Boston’s Innovation District. The association’s board of trustees yesterday authorized the purchase of a building at 24 Farnsworth St. and the subsequent sale of the organization’s four buildings on Beacon Hill.

25 Beacon Street, immediately adjacent to the Massachusetts State House, has served as the Unitarian headquarters since its construction in 1925-1927 and as the headquarters for the UUA since its formation in 1961 as the result of the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association (AUA) and the Universalist Church of America (UCA).

The UUA also plans to sell its office building at 41 Mount Vernon St., currently the headquarters of Beacon Press, as well as the properties at 6 and 7 Mount Vernon Place.

Tim Brennan, UUA treasurer and chief financial officer, spearheaded a two-year search for a new headquarters that began with a strategic analysis of the association’s current facilities.

According to Brennan, "After considerable research and analysis, we came to the conclusion that our current facilities on Beacon Hill were ill-suited to a contemporary, forward-looking organization. And remaining in these buildings would have required millions of dollars in renovations over the next few years."

The new headquarters of the UUA is a six-story building in the heart of the Innovation District. The UUA, which will occupy three of the six floors, will execute a lease with an option to purchase on Jan. 1, 2015.