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Comments on May 11, 2003 Boston Globe Article - Houses of worship become homes of distinction, as churches go up for sale and developers shout 'Bingo!In the article “Houses of worship become homes of distinction, as churches go up for sale and developers shout 'Bingo!'” of Boston Globe, 5/11/03, it is stated: “St. Peter and Paul's Church in South Boston will be busy next Sunday. But instead of drawing the faithful to Mass, the 155-year-old granite structure will be showcasing 36 luxury condos that have been carved out of the space. The prices are no drop in the collection basket, ranging from $275,000 for a tiny studio to $1.3 million for the penthouse, which comes with bell tower access - bell included.” The fact is that this church and rectory were sold on 10/19/00 for $2.4MM, cash. Jim McFarland took title before getting permits as a condition of sale. The Globe RE section featured the sale on 11/4/00 on the front page of the Sunday RE section. The deal with McFarland specified that he could build 52 residential condominiums consisting of 21-1 bedroom, 27 2-bedroom and 4 3-bedroom condos, each with one parking space. Of these, 13 were to be "affordable" and in any case, the affordable component was to be 25% of the final unit count. The affordable units are to be restricted against market speculation and limited to inflationary price increases of 5% per year, and are to be owner occupied. Thus, the Church was very clear in making sure that lower income families would be served in the use of the former church property. If there are 36 units as reported, 9 of these should be affordable in concert with our agreement. The Archdiocese is currently checking to make sure that this is in fact the case. Fr. Christopher Coyne |
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