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	Archdiocese Sells BC $65m Piece of Land By Laura Crimaldi Boston Herald May 25, 2007 http://business.bostonherald.com/realestateNews/view.bg?articleid=1003013&srvc=biz The cash-strapped Archdiocese of Boston, which has been selling off its sprawling grounds in Brighton to pay for clergy abuse settlements and other costs, said yesterday it will sell a large piece of land to neighboring Boston College for $65 million. The sale, which includes multiple buildings and about 18 acres, will let the archdiocese relocate its administrative offices to a 140,000-square-foot compound in Braintree owned by church benefactor and developer Thomas Flatley. The deal is to close on Aug. 1. "We have reached a significant milestone," said Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley. "Proceeds from this sale will allow the archdiocese to invest resources for the benefit of our parishes, clergy, St. John's Seminary and many important programs that serve a large number of people." The archdiocese has just one building left at the site - the seminary, where it trains priests. BC paid $99.4 million in 2004 for 43 acres on the church's Brighton campus. Two years later, the Jesuit college bought the archdiocese's adjacent Lake Street Tribunal property for $8 million. "We're pleased," said BC spokesman Jack Dunn. "It will help meet Boston College's academic and administrative needs while helping the Archdiocese of Boston improve its financial situation." The announcement sparked an outcry from an advocacy group for closed churches in Greater Boston. "This is a striking sign of the accelerating decline and the eventual fall of the Archdiocese of Boston, which was established almost 200 years ago," said Council of Parishes co-chairman Peter Borre. "Yet again the archdiocese has failed to consult with those who will be impacted by this decision," he said. "In the case of reconfiguration, the Catholics of Boston, and in the case of the chancery, the citizens of Brighton." Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been urging the church against a move to Braintree, to be completed next July. "We hope that they continue to do their mission here in helping the poor and the most vulnerable of our society, and we will continue to work with them in serving that population," said Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce. Contact: lcrimaldi@bostonherald.com.
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