Twin Cities Archdiocese looks at selling key properties

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: February 25, 2015

Local Catholic Church officials says money would go toward paying debt from bankruptcy.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis plans to ask a bankruptcy trustee for permission to sell some of its most well-known real estate, including the archbishop’s residence and chancery building, where top archdiocese officials have worked for decades.

Both of the Summit Avenue buildings stand across from the towering St. Paul Cathedral, and have been at the heart of the archdiocese operations.

Tom Mertens, the archdiocese’s chief financial officer, told a bankruptcy court creditors’ committee Tuesday that the church is considering selling four properties to help pay its bankruptcy debts.

The other properties are the Hayden Center just blocks away on Kellogg Boulevard, and the Dayton Building, which is adjacent to the St. Paul Cathedral and houses archdiocese staff.

About 150 archdiocese staff could be affected by a sale.

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