The Archdiocese of New Orleans is asking a bankruptcy court judge to clear the way for the sale of the former Catholic Bookstore building on South Carrollton Avenue to a Baton Rouge-based dentist, who plans to convert the century-old structure into a dental office.
The archdiocese reached an agreement earlier this spring to sell the building for $850,000 to Dr. Courtney Brashier and her husband, James Brashier, and is hoping to finalize the sale later this month, court documents show.
The bookstore was a beloved local business that sold books, prayer cards and other religious items to generations of local Catholics. It closed earlier this year after 85 years in business, including 45 years at the Carrollton Avenue location.
The historic home it vacated is one of seven properties that was listed for sale last fall by the archdiocese, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in May 2020 amid mounting claims of child sex abuse by local priests and deacons. Selling off the properties, which originally had a total asking price of $10.4 million, should help generate cash to help pay settlement claims that are expected to cost well north of $100 million.
Though the sale price for the former bookstore building, which totals about 4,800 square feet, is 15% lower than the original $1 million asking price, a church spokesperson said it represented a good deal and an appropriate use for the site.
“We are pleased with the buyers, who will contribute to the integrity of the neighborhood, and hope the sale goes through on July 23,” the spokesperson said.
Brashier did not return a call seeking comment.
Liquidating assets
The proposed sale comes with the archdiocese bankruptcy case in its fifth year. Attorneys for the church, the committee that represent more than 500 claimants of past clergy abuse, insurance companies and the 110 parishes in the archdiocese, which are not technically in bankruptcy themselves, are trying to come up with a settlement plan that survivors will accept, and the church can afford.
The church has vast real estate holdings with an insured replacement value of more than $2 billion. But Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his advisors have said those properties — most of them aging empty church buildings and long-shuttered schools — wouldn’t generate a fraction of that amount if sold all at once. The archdiocese has sold 15 of 27 local churches it shuttered following a post-Katrina decline in the area population. Of those, only five fetched $1 million or more.
Market realities
Recently filed court documents speak to the challenges of selling commercial buildings in the current real-estate climate. Brashier originally offered to purchase the bookstore and a gravel parking lot next to it, which is also listed for sale, for $1.1 million. But after getting estimates for the cost of converting the building to a dentist office, she lowered her offer to $850,000 for the building only.
“Although 3003-3009 S. Carrollton is an attractive property, market conditions, construction costs and interest rates in today’s market render redevelopment expensive,” court documents filed by the church say.
Veteran real estate appraiser Bush Benton, who was not involved in the appraisal of the property, said $850,000 is a fair price, given the realities he says investors are up against in the market.
“Given interest rates, insurance and construction costs, it’s a reasonable number,” he said.