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Archdiocese Sells Properties in Plumstead, Abington

By Crissa Shoemaker
Philly Burbs
July 26, 2013

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/money/archdiocese-sells-properties-in-plumstead-abington/article_6f80a60e-40f3-5921-bcf0-940e27ec4f96.html

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput is seen during a news conference Tuesday, July 19, 2011, in Philadelphia. The Vatican on Tuesday named Chaput as Archbishop Justin Rigali's successor as Archbishop of Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has sold four unused properties, including a 49-acre parcel in Plumstead, for nearly $2 million.

Three properties were sold at auction Wednesday for a total of $875,000. Proceeds from those sales will go to the parishes in which the properties are located, including St. Hilary of Poitiers in Abington. A one-acre parcel belonging to the church was sold for $325,000 to a local developer who plans to build an estate home there.

Prior to auction, the archdiocese agreed to sell its land on Wismer Road in Plumstead for $850,000, archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin said. Proceeds from that sale will go toward general operating expenses at the archdiocese.

Gavin did not identify the buyer of the Plumstead property, but said the person does not plan on developing the site, farmland purchased for a future church.

Wednesday’s sale, conducted by Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., came on the heels of a financial report that showed the church had a $17 million deficit last year, and about $350 million in long-term debt. The archdiocese is expecting a $5 million budget shortfall this year, Gavin said.

“Ultimately we want to bring that to zero,” he said.

The auction drew a mix of serious bidders and spectators to the Sheraton in Philadelphia.

Max Spann Sr. egged on bidders as auctioneer Joe Bodnar shouted prices in rapid fire.

This is the second time Spann’s company has sold archdiocesan property; last year, it sold the church’s beachfront vacation home in Ventnor, N.J., for $4.5 million.

In an auction, “you can sell it on your own terms and conditions,” Spann said. “You don’t have to do 22 open houses.”

Bruce Olds, his son, David, and his father Joseph Petrille came from Phoenixville after learning that a property they were interested in buying for their budding real estate business, the former St. Michael Business School on North Second Street in Philadelphia, would be up for sale.

“We’re just starting in real estate,” Olds said. “We’re looking for cheap properties.”

The trio didn’t bid on the property — which sold for $330,000 — but said they learned a lot about real estate auctions.

A second Philadelphia property, the former St. Bartholomew Convent on Harbison Avenue, sold for $220,000. Two others, on East Thompson Street and North 19th Street, failed to sell because they didn’t garner high enough bids.

The archdiocese also rejected a $295,000 bid for a 29.5-acre lot on Shelly Road in Upper Salford, which Gavin said was appraised at $625,000. The properties that failed to sell will be sold through conventional means, Gavin said.

“This was a new approach,” Gavin said. “Typically we’ll try traditional marketing. A number of the ones that were up for bid today were up for traditional marketing for some time.”

None of the properties for sale were being used.

Crissa Shoemaker DeBree: 215-345-3186; email: cshoemaker@phillyburbs.com; Twitter: @bucksmontbiz

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