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	Diocese Reclaims Hq in $1.2m Post-bankruptcy Deal By Ann Mcglynn Quad-City Times March 12, 2010 http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_9462344c-2e51-11df-addc-001cc4c002e0.html The Diocese of Davenport once again owns its headquarters. In a back-and-forth real estate exchange prompted by the diocese’s bankruptcy, the chancery will remain the diocese’s home offices. Retired priests also live there. The $1.225 million deal for the property at 2706 N. Gaines St. in Davenport was completed earlier this month. “Renovations are being made to improve the energy efficiency of the building, including replacing some of the windows and lighting,” diocesan spokesman David Montgomery said. “The recommendation to purchase a portion of the property came from a committee that also examined purchasing other property, renting property and building a new chancery.” The diocese handed over the deed to its chancery and 58 acres as part of its bankruptcy settlement. St. Ambrose University, a Catholic institution, purchased the property in May for $3.35 million. The diocese bought back about five acres of the 58-acre site in the transaction that closed March 2. It took out a $980,000 mortgage with Quad-City Bank & Trust. An on-going capital campaign eventually will pay for the purchase, Montgomery said. The other headquarters on the property — the Congregation of the Humility of Mary — is on the land still owned by St. Ambrose. The sisters have a 99-year lease that will remain, said Mike Poster, vice president of finance for St. Ambrose. Meanwhile, St. Ambrose is making plans for the remaining property, about 44 acres, Poster said. A committee is examining options, with the help of planners. The university, he said, is land-locked. The land provides for several opportunities for not only buildings but for other types of activities three blocks from the main campus. For example, the biology department, he said, is interested in projects it can do with the ecosystems on the north side of the land along Duck Creek. The cost of turning the chancery into use for academics was going to be high. “It was in the best fiscal interest to sell it to the diocese and let them use it for the chancery,” Poster said. The diocese filed for bankruptcy in October 2006 after it lost its first civil sex abuse trial. The diocese, its insurance company and the creditors committee agreed to a $37 million bankruptcy settlement, with the stipulation that the diocese and all Catholic entities in the diocese were to be released from liability. Insurance company Travelers paid $19.5 million. The deed to the diocese-owned St. Vincent Center was turned over to the bankruptcy trustee, and the diocese paid $13.5 million. More than 150 sex abuse victims were covered by the settlement. The diocese also agreed to several nonmonetary items as part of the settlement. The execution of those nonmonetary requests remains in dispute, with the diocese’s second of three annual reports due later this spring.
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