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	Marydale Sold Proceeds to Help Fund Abuse Settlement By Luke E. Saladin The Cincinnati Post [Kentucky] March 4, 2006 http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/NEWS02/603040352/1014 The Diocese of Covington has sold all but 40 acres of its Marydale Retreat Center for $25 million to partially fund a settlement for victims of priest sexual abuse. Vinings Trace LLC, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Western & Southern Financial Group, purchased the 226 acres a week ago following six months of negotiations. The company has not yet announced plans for the property, located off Donaldson Road near the Boone-Kenton county line. The 40 acres retained by the Diocese includes the St. Pius X Priests' Cemetery and Catholic Center, formerly the St. Pius X Seminary building. The building that housed the retreat center is on the tract that was sold, but diocese officials said no programs, including retreats, would be interrupted because of the sale. Retreats at Marydale - long a rite of passage for Northern Kentucky Catholics - will be moved to the Catholic Center in space formerly occupied by the diocesan administrative staff, which moved to new offices at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North in Covington last year. Edgewood resident Nancy Shaughnessy, a member of St. Pius X Church, said she attended a weeklong retreat at Marydale when she was 10. "It was a wonderful experience," she said. The children did typical summer camp things like making crafts. "I'm sure many people in the diocese have wonderful memories of it," she said of the property. "I know the bishop did what he had to do, as difficult and painful as the decision must have been." "Since we first determined last June that we would need to sell the Marydale property to fund the class action settlement, it has been my sincere hope that the diocese would be able to find a way to maintain possession of St. Pius X Priests' Cemetery and the former seminary building while still fulfilling our commitment to the settlement fund," Bishop Roger Foys said in a statement. "I am grateful that we were able to negotiate a sale that allowed us to do so." The sale of the property was needed to help fund the diocese's part of an $85 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by people who said they had been sexually abused by priests and other diocesan employees. The church is responsible for $40 million of the fund, with insurance companies contributing the remaining $45 million. At least 382 people have filed claims under the settlement; those still have to be examined to determine their legitimacy and eligibility under the terms of the class-action lawsuit. Eagle Reality Group, another subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group, acted as the real estate agent in the deal. Eagle President Mario San Marco said the company had not made a final decision on what it will due with the property. "At this point we have no specific plans, we just saw it as a very sound investment opportunity," San Marco said. "It's so unique because you don't find a piece of land this size in an already developed area." San Marco said the property would be evaluated over the next few months to determine its best use. He noted that office space is one of the options being considered. Large businesses locating their corporate offices in downtown Cincinnati often desire secondary office space in the suburbs. San Marco said the Marydale property could serve as a desirable site for such offices. "It's something we're going to analyze over the coming months," San Marco said. "It has many potential uses, and we plan to look at all of them." Another sign pointing toward office space on the property is the land's current zoning. The Boone County Planning Commission approved a diocese request in 2002 to allow for offices to be developed on the property. Current zoning also allows for retail and residential, but that would require approval from the planning commission, said Kevin Costello, executive director of the Boone County Planning Commission. "If they wanted to build offices, they could do that immediately," Costello said. "If they want to do something else, they have some procedural things to take care of first." Deacon Paul Yancey, director at Marydale, understands that the community has emotional ties to the property because thousands of Catholics have attended retreats there, both as youth and adults. But he noted that the retreat center would have been replaced at some point, anyway. "Things change over time," Yancey said. "I'm sure it was a big blow to people when we lost the camp back in the 1980s because of all their wonderful memories there. The reality, though, is that the retreat center is more than 50 years old and we needed more space." Yancey said the current retreat center can only sleep about 60 people at one time. He said that capacity could be doubled once the Catholic Center is renovated. The Catholic Center currently has 25 bedrooms, but some of those can accommodate three or more people.
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