NEW YORK:General Theological Seminary set to sell Tutu Center to Investor
NEW YORK: Still strapped, General Theological Seminary set to sell Tutu Center to Investor Brodsky
BY WINNIE McCROY for chelseanow.com
http://www.chelseanow.com/
February 24, 2012
[Ed. Note: As grad schools, even seminaries, go to online education with minimal residential requirements, theological schools in TEC continue to show decline. This article states, "Doyel blamed the reckless financial decisions undertaken by former GTS leadership for sending the institution into a downward financial spiral that could only be countered by drastic measures." Apparently, not enough drastic measures have been taken to date, as this is the second sale of a major portion of the campus. Cheryl M. Wetzel for Anglicans United]
Chelsea residents are saddened, but not surprised, by the recent discovery that the real estate developer and investor Daniel Brodsky and the Brodsky Organization is in negotiations to buy the Desmond Tutu Center, a conference center and hotel owned by the General Theological Seminary (GTS).
"We are still in negotiations, so my hands are tied as far as commenting on that," said Bruce Parker, the GTS's associate vice president for external relations in a February 20 phone call. Representatives at the Brodsky Organization also declined to comment on the sale, but public records indicate that, although no deed transfer has been recorded, Brodsky has already obtained an easement and development rights at the site.
But neighbors admitted that the sale did not come as a surprise. The 50,000 square feet center features two large conference rooms and 60 hotel rooms, and is valued at $30 million. And despite a 2005 agreement with the city that the rooms would be open only to those affiliated with the GTS, local residents have complained for years that the Tutu Center has operated as a hotel.
The Desmond Tutu Center is comprised of three adjacent, red-brick, neo-gothic properties at 180 Tenth Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets that were joined to created a larger facility. Like other properties in the Seminary's "Close" (or campus), the Center contains many religious architectural features - including ornate embellishments and stained glass windows.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
BY WINNIE McCROY for chelseanow.com
http://www.chelseanow.com/
February 24, 2012
[Ed. Note: As grad schools, even seminaries, go to online education with minimal residential requirements, theological schools in TEC continue to show decline. This article states, "Doyel blamed the reckless financial decisions undertaken by former GTS leadership for sending the institution into a downward financial spiral that could only be countered by drastic measures." Apparently, not enough drastic measures have been taken to date, as this is the second sale of a major portion of the campus. Cheryl M. Wetzel for Anglicans United]
"We are still in negotiations, so my hands are tied as far as commenting on that," said Bruce Parker, the GTS's associate vice president for external relations in a February 20 phone call. Representatives at the Brodsky Organization also declined to comment on the sale, but public records indicate that, although no deed transfer has been recorded, Brodsky has already obtained an easement and development rights at the site.
But neighbors admitted that the sale did not come as a surprise. The 50,000 square feet center features two large conference rooms and 60 hotel rooms, and is valued at $30 million. And despite a 2005 agreement with the city that the rooms would be open only to those affiliated with the GTS, local residents have complained for years that the Tutu Center has operated as a hotel.
The Desmond Tutu Center is comprised of three adjacent, red-brick, neo-gothic properties at 180 Tenth Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets that were joined to created a larger facility. Like other properties in the Seminary's "Close" (or campus), the Center contains many religious architectural features - including ornate embellishments and stained glass windows.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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