NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Nola.com [New Orleans, LA]
December 18, 2024
By Stephanie Riegel
The Archdiocese of New Orleans, which remains locked in settlement talks for its long-running bankruptcy case, is selling three more properties as it raises cash that will eventually pay survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
The New Orleans-area properties include a historic former school in Faubourg Marigny, a vacant lot across the street from the Notre Dame Seminary and a five-bedroom Covington home along the Tchefuncte River that was used for clergy retreats.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Grabill approved the sales Monday, according to court filings.
The properties will generate about $2.3 million for the nation’s second-oldest Roman Catholic diocese and come as church officials and abuse survivors work towards a financial settlement in the four-year-old case. Archbishop Gregory Aymond placed the local church under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020 amid mounting claims of abuse, most of them decades old.
Earlier this fall, the church filed a reorganization plan, offering to pay survivors $62.5 million — about $113,600 each — to compensate them for past abuse. Survivors have asked for nearly $1 billion — about $1.8 million each — though that total also includes potential insurance claims in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The two sides have agreed to a nonmonetary settlement that includes the release of church files on abuse, but they remain far apart as they negotiate towards a financial settlement. Still, the sale of more church assets signals progress, a spokesperson for the archdiocese said.
“Putting a property back into commerce for the good of the community as we generate revenue to put towards a settlement is a positive step forward,” Archdiocese spokesperson Sarah McDonald said in a prepared statement.
The sales are expected to close by the end of the year.
Tough market?
The local church has already sold more than $13 million in properties, including an office building on Howard Avenue and the former Catholic Bookstore, as part of its move to raise cash. The archdiocese has vast real estate holdings that have an insured replacement value of more than $2 billion. But many are churches, schools and other properties that are used by parishes and other affiliates and the archdiocese has said the market value of the portfolio is far less than its insured value.
Of the three properties now being sold, the Bishop Perry Center at the corner of Dauphine and Touro streets is the priciest. The center, which closed in 2017, formerly provided a variety of services to homeless families. The property was the home of the Catholic Institution for Indigent Orphans in the 1800s. It was later the site of several Catholic schools.
Harahan-based investor Daniel McKearan is purchasing the 12,600-square-foot building for $1.1 million after it was initially listed for $1.95 million, court records show. The property is zoned for a variety of uses and could be converted to apartments or condominiums.
McKearan did not return a request for comment.
A vacant lot in the 2900 block of S. Carrollton Avenue across from Notre Dame Seminary was sold to Rock n’ Bowl owner John Blancher, who agreed to pay $750,000 for the nearly 30,000-square-foot lot — about half its original asking price of $1.3 million.
In court documents, McEnery said even at a reduced asking price, of $995,000, “the market response, due to zoning restrictions, interest rates and construction costs, demonstrates that the market will not support a sale near the new list price.”
Blancher, who owns Rock n’ Bowl, Ye Olde College Inn and a reception hall a block away from the property, said he does not plan to build on it. The lot abuts six other vacant parcels he has acquired over the past 15 years.
“Since Katrina, we have maintained the cutting and edging of the entire square in order for the neighborhood to look good,” said Blancher. “People gravitate toward areas that are safe and I hope to keep it that way.”
The property known as the Priests’ Villa on Riverbend Drive in Covington is being sold to northshore real estate broker Patrick Roberts for $495,000. The five-bedroom, 3,300-square-foot home overlooks the Tchefuncte River.
According to court documents, Roberts owns neighboring property and expressed an interest in the house once he found out the archdiocese was planning to sell it.
He did not respond to a request for comment.