Is Boston Archdiocese Giving Sweet Deals on Sale of Church Properties?

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Catholic Insider

Given the financial condition of the Boston Archdiocese, one would think that the archdiocese would try to get as much money as possible when selling properties.

Not necessarily.

Here is an example. St. Catherine of Siena Church in Charleston was recently sold. The properities sold were assessed at more than $8.7M. The were sold for just $1.4M to Suffolk Company. (Note Suffolk Company appears to be different from Suffolk Construction).

A year ago in 2012, according to this article, the value of the property was follows:

* The church building is 22,000 square feet on a plot of 17,000 square feet. It was built in 1890 and is presently assessed for $2.5 million.
*The former parochial school property built in 1900, which is part of the entire package, has a land area of 31,400 square feet and a structure of 29,000 square feet and is currently assessed for $6.2 million.
*There is a third property – The Annex – built in 1920 – which has a 2000 square foot school building. This structure rests on the school parcel aforementioned.

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