The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Hitting a road block Lawyers for St. Charles file appeal over historic designation
LOWER MERION » Lawyers representing St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood have filed an appeal of Lower Merion Township’s vote last month to designate the site as a Class 1 historic property.
The court filing, dated Aug. 14, was filed in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Norristown.
The one-paragraph court document reads, “Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary … hereby appeals the enactment of Lower Merion Township Ordinance No. 4138 An Ordinance to Amend The Code of the Township of Lower Merion, Chapter A 180 Historic Districts, Historic Resource Inventory to Add Eight Parcels and Fifty-Six objects to the Historic Resource Inventory, including the parcel located at 100 E. Wynnewood [Road], Wynnewood, PA which is owned by Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.”
A copy of the township’s newly enacted ordinance was also attached as an exhibit.
A Class 1 historic status on a property allows additional review by the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners and could allow the board to block a building from being demolished.
Last month, the Lower Merion Board of Commissions unanimously approved a motion upgrading the historic designation of the property along with several other sites and some objects throughout the township.
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The St. Charles property was upgraded from not being classified to the township’s highest Class 1 status. Along with St. Charles, the board also upgraded the status of several properties, including the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Erdman Hall at Bryn Mawr College, the Wynnewood and the Merion train stations, the Gladwyne Jewish Memorial Cemetery, Ashbridge Memorial Park, 42 of the historic Merion road signs and the 14 Colonial era milestones.
In June, the board voted not to update the historic status of Clothier Estate in Villanova because the school district wanted to purchase it, demolish it and build a middle school. After the board’s vote, the school board entered into an agreement to purchase the mansion site.
When reached Thursday, township officials declined to comment on the appeal.
Stephen P. Dolan, chief financial officer at St. Charles, declined comment, referring calls to the seminary’s attorneys.
At a township board meeting last month, Dolan said the township’s decision to upgrade the property was harming their ability to negotiate with a potential buyer for the site.
“We need to sell this property,” Dolan said in July. “We need to relocate. We have a cash flow of approximately three years. If we don’t do something soon, all this talk about, ‘Oh, they’re foolish; they’re not going to leave.’ We’re not going to have a choice ladies and gentleman. We have to do something.”
At the same township meeting, information had also come out publicly that Main Line Health was interested in purchasing the property and that the township’s decision to upgrade the site was harming those negotiations.
Calls to two of the attorneys representing St. Charles were not returned this week.
One of those attorneys, Carl Primavera, speaking at the township meeting last month, said the timing of the historic upgrade could not come at a worse time for the seminary.
“The discussion of the designation has created a real chill … on our perspective purchaser,” Primavera said. “So the impact and the harm on the seminary is not something that comes to the imagination of an overactive mind of an attorney or is something that is speculative. We have been in negotiations with an important purchaser, and when this came about, they immediately stopped negotiating.”
For its part, Main Line Health issued a statement Friday afternoon regarding the property and suggested they remain interested in the property.
“Main Line Health has a non-binding letter of intent with the Seminary to acquire the property, but we have not yet finalized and signed an agreement of sale. We are in the process of assessing how Main Line Health could use the property to advance our mission of enhancing the health and well-being of our community. We remain in regular contact and cooperative discussions with Lower Merion Township — as well as Seminary officials — with the goal of advancing productive conversations about the future of this property. We are committed to informing the community when and if there are significant updates to share,” the statement read.