Doing Deals

Yesterday we have this article in the NYT on the fate of New York Catholic churches and their “artifacts.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/nyregion/for-relics-from-closed-churches-an-afterlife-in-staten-island.html?ref=nyregion

The article has as its stated theme the “recycling” of furnishings from closed churches.

“Some items ended up at the warehouse after the 2007 decision of the Archdiocese of New York to close or shrink 21 parishes. Others came because of renovations. Much more will be coming; the archdiocese plans to announce another round of parish closings in 2014.”

The more interesting part, however, is a chronicle – not totally complete – of the real estate deals of the Archdiocese involving the sites of former churches. Some of these deals don’t appear to have been that advantageous.

“In 2007, the archdiocese said it would not sell closing churches to developers, but that turned out not to be the case. Mary Help of Christians was sold in December 2012 to Steiner NYC for $41 million. Near the Holland Tunnel, Our Lady of Vilnius, a former Lithuanian Church, was put on the market by the diocese for $13 million. It sold in October to the Extell Development Company, which is flipping the property and asking $19 million for it. A brochure suggests 22 stories of apartments could be built there.”