Archdiocese opens sale for closed properties

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has opened a sealed-bid sale through which 38 vacant or unused properties, three of them former churches, will be offered for sale to the general public, with the proceeds used to support ongoing parish and archdiocesan ministries.

The church-related properties were put up for sale only after extensive consultation with the pastors and pastoral councils of the parishes that assumed responsibility for each former church parish, archdiocesan spokeswoman Sarah McDonald said.

Also, the archdiocese attempted first to see if it could reuse the properties for other archdiocesan ministries, she said, before deciding to put them up for sale.

The sale includes three former church buildings:

Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Burgundy Street in the Bywater, which was closed in 2001 as a result of the “Catholic Life 2000” planning process;

St. Maurice Church on St. Maurice Avenue, closed after Hurricane Katrina;

and St. Simon Peter Church on Gannon Road in New Orleans East, also closed after Katrina.

The Sts. Peter and Paul church property also includes the former school, rectory and convent buildings, and the St. Maurice church property includes a school, gym and rectory that covers an entire city block. St. Simon Peter’s multi-use building was both a church and a school.

Two other church-related properties – St. Philip the Apostle on Metropolitan Street in New Orleans and St. Robert Bellarmine on Badger Drive in Arabi – are included in the sale, but the church and school buildings were demolished after Katrina and are now vacant land.

The former Sacred Heart gym and school building on South Rendon Street (near Canal Street) also is being sold.

Nearly all the remaining properties up for sale are vacant land parcels that either have been donated over the years by individuals or purchased by the archdiocese for possible future use but no longer needed.

“Some of the donations go as far back as the 1930s,” McDonald said.

The sealed-bid sale, which will run through Nov. 9 at 5 p.m., is being managed by RE/MAX Commercial Brokers. A complete list of properties is available at mysealedbid.com.

Archdiocese has options

Under the “sealed-bid” process, the archdiocese has the right to accept or reject any bid, even if it is the highest. All purchases are subject to a clause that the owner – as well as any future owner – cannot use the property for any abortion-related purposes, including counseling, medical services or advocacy.

“That’s why this is not an auction – it’s a sale,” McDonald said. “We wanted to maintain the right to refuse a bid that would come in if we did not feel comfortable with it. There is a lot of due diligence on our part before we sell a property to make sure that we are respectful of the people in the community. Especially concerning the churches and schools, we want to make sure we are respectful of the memories of the area and the property that has been there.”

McDonald said that in the case of the sale of church properties, the proceeds would be used first to pay any debt that the former parish may have had, as well as expenses incurred in the years since Katrina insuring and maintaining the property.

Parish reorganization

In 2001, Blessed Seelos Parish assumed responsibility for Sts. Peter and Paul. Under the post-Katrina reorganization of the archdiocese in 2008, St. David Parish became responsible for St. Maurice, and St. Maria Goretti Parish was given responsibility for St. Simon Peter.

“The balance of the proceeds would follow to the new parish,” McDonald said. “It’s very important to note that no church property whatsoever went onto this list without extensive consultation between the archdiocese, the pastor and the pastoral council. We just felt like it was best to try to return these properties to use, because right now we’re just holding them.”

Archbishop Gregory Aymond said he recognized the sacred memories that parishioners have for each church. The archdiocese tried first to see if it could reuse the churches for archdiocesan ministries.

“I pass by my old neighborhood every now and then, and even though my house is no longer there, I still have the memories of living there,” Archbishop Aymond said. “I understand the attachment people have with their church, especially if they were baptized or received first Communion or confirmation there. But this is also a reminder that the church is not the building. We are the church, and we also must be good stewards of the resources God has given us.”

Sale should garner interest

John Gilbert, the commercial broker handling the sale for RE/MAX, said he was optimistic about the sale’s prospects. As word began to filter out that the properties were for sale – particularly the Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Maurice sites – traffic to the website (www.mysealedbid.com) picked up.

“We’ve had a tremendous volume of activity on Sts. Peter and Paul Church,” Gilbert said. “We figured that would garner more activity than a lot in Mississippi. We hope to sell all the assets. We’ll certainly have varied levels of interest in the different properties.”

The “list” price for Sts. Peter and Paul and for St. Maurice is $1 million each, Gilbert said, but that does not mean it is a minimum bid or a reserve price.

“It doesn’t mean that if you pay that tomorrow, it’s yours,” Gilbert said. “That’s what the list price is – just as if you were listing a house for sale. Also, the archdiocese reserves the right to accept or reject any bid.”

RE/MAX will schedule two days to tour the various properties, the first falling somewhere between Oct. 9-12 and the second between Oct. 30-Nov. 6. Those dates are being finalized.

“Sts. Peter and Paul will definitely have the most interest because of the neighborhood,” Gilbert said. “There’s a lot of activity in that area – big residential redevelopments are underway, and there’s a tremendous value to that property, as well as a large volume of improvements in the school building, rectory and convent. In the current environment, that garners more interest than a vacant lot.”

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarion herald.org.