The Dominican Retreat Options A-E.Indd
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PRELIMINARY REPORT THE DOMINICAN RETREAT HOUSE (William L. Elkins Estate) PRESERVATION BUSINESS MODELING, FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT, & IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY COMMISSIONED BY: White Pines Productions Benjamin Lloyd, Founding Producer With generous support from the Wyncote Foundation FROM: CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia 2920 Cambridge Street Philadelphia, PA 19130-1116 Thaddeus Squire, Founder & Managing Director 267 597 3803 // [email protected] WITH: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects Michael Schade, AIA, LEED AP, Principal Sam Olshin, AIA, Principal Shawn Evans, AIA, Associate, Director of Preservation & Cultural Projects Becker & Frondorf John R. Frondorf, Founding Principal Charles Moleski, Principal Urban Partners James Hartling, Partner WORKING DOCUMENT DRAFT: September 15, 2012 NOTE ON USE OF THIS DOCUMENT This report, commissioned by White Pines Productions with the support of the Wyncote Foundation, is a working “draft” document for the planning and implementation of a sustainable solution for the preservation of the Dominican Retreat House (William L. Elkins Estate). As such, we have eschewed elaborate graphics and layout to allow the organization and level of detail of the content to continue to evolve as the owners, the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine De’Ricci, and other stakeholders of the property work to explore and implement solutions. This is not a final work product of CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia and its Consulting Team, as we will continue to support planning as it proceeds. CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia: The Dominican Retreat // Preliminary Report, page 2 CONTENTS Executive Summary 4 Context for this Study 7 Historical Background & Signifi cance 9 Audiences, Goals, & Assumptions 11 Approach 13 Key Findings 14 Assessment Summary 35 Near-term Recommended Solution 37 Long-term Recommended Solutions 38 Appendices 50 3 Executive Summary BACKGROUND This Preliminary Report was commissioned by White Pines Productions (White Pines) with support from the Wyncote Foundation, as a means of providing a comprehensive overview, assessment, and analysis of the current situation at the 42-acre Dominican Retreat House (William L. Elkins Estate), which has been embroiled in various legal battles for the past two years. The Dominican Retreat House was established in 1890’s as the summer retreat for the family of William L. Elkins, who developed a breathtaking property with extensive gardens and landscapes, and nine major buildings, including two substantial houses, Elstowe Manor and Chelten House (designed by renowned Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer.) The property’s current highly preserved physical state and connection to Trumbauer make it of significant historical and preservation interest. The Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine De’Ricci (Dominican Sisters) bought the property from the Elkins family in 1932, and operated it as a location for their Congregation to live out its mission and as a religious retreat for women, forging strong ties to the community of Cheltenham Township, in which the property is situated. After 75 years of stewardship, the Dominican Sisters sold the property in 2009 to a local nonprofit social service organization Food for All. Food for All quickly established the Land Conservancy of Elkins Park (Land Conservancy), another nonprofit corporation, to operate and maintain a preservation-oriented mission and programming profile for the property. In 2010, the Land Conservancy was found in default of its mortgage with the Congregation, and subsequently declared bankruptcy. The ensuing legal proceedings around the bankruptcy, as well as other litigation concerning the property’s tax status have strained community, local government, and other relations. Activity on the property ceased at the end of August 2012, leaving the property increasingly vulnerable from to lack of adequate financial and preservation capacity and stewardship. During the Land Conservancy’s period of ownership, White Pines Productions, Philadelphia nonprofit arts organization founded and directed by Benjamin Lloyd, led efforts to establish the Dominican Retreat House as a premier location for a diverse array of arts programs. These included play readings; music, dance, and theatre performances, artist residencies, discursive events and public conversations, as well as other activities. White Pines’s work on the property brought the Dominican Retreat a great deal of exposure in the broader cultural and local community, and regard as both a cultural asset and place to nurture creativity. As a consequence of this work, White Pines and its Board of Directors decided to take a leadership role in facilitating a solution to the various threats and challenges that the Dominican Retreat House came to face over 2011 and early 2012. In April 2012 White Pines commissioned CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia, and a team assembled from Atkin Olshin Schade Architects, Becker & Frondorf, and Urban Partners to help analyze the situation and bring a neutral third-party view of the entire system of challenges that face this historic property today. ANALYSIS There is a need for more comprehensive and common understanding among all of the parties (individual and collective) of the opportunities and challenges that surround the Dominican Retreat House, its current situation and future potential. Potential Solution: The broad-based inventory of Key Findings and this Preliminary Report itself is intended to offer some remedy for these deficits in understanding or awareness. There is a need for collaboration and most likely some manner of compromise among multiple parties (chiefly the Dominican Sisters, Township Regulatory and Taxing Authorities, and the Land Conservancy) to find a positive resolution for the future of the Dominican Retreat House. CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia: The Dominican Retreat // Preliminary Report, page 4 Potential Solution: The Township (taxing authorities), the Dominican Sisters, and the Land Conservancy need to come to the negotiating table together, most likely with legal mediation and/or other third-party facilitators and planners, and reach an agreement as to how litigation can be de-escalated and acceptable resolutions reached for the claims on all sides. Time is of the essence. Unlike in other instances of legal dispute where time is less “costly,” this dispute involves real property, which means that time is not a luxury the property can afford, let alone the human stakeholders. As of September 1, 2012 the Dominican Retreat House is no longer generating revenue. Operating the programs and business of the property is the only activity that is bringing new money into the system that still must carry the costs of litigation and maintenance of the property. Even “mothballing” a property of this size and complexity leaves considerable costs still to be covered. Furthermore, if a solution that allows for the confident re-operation and re- marketing of the property isn’t reached by November 1, 2012, the critical booking season for weddings (the Dominican Retreat House’s principal revenue generator) will be missed, thereby effectively forfeiting a full year’s business. Potential Solution: Because of the urgency, we need to approach the property with separate near-term and long-term strategies. Improving the general level of trust among the various stakeholders will be essential to the near-term efforts to stabilize the situation. As described below, we are recommending the procurement or formation of an interim fiduciary and management organization, a nonprofit controlled by the Dominican Sisters (as owners) or fiduciaries of their appointment, to take on both the management and operations of the property, as well as to serve potentially for some of the transition and work-out management with accepted creditors to the property. We encountered wide concern over basic issues of trust and credibility among the various stakeholders involved. In addition, it was reported to us by the Land Conservancy that the ongoing litigation and uncertain future of the property has damaged the reputation of the property among the client market for weddings and retreats, the two main revenue drivers that have any promise of keeping the property operating and maintained. Potential Solution: The Dominican Sisters should create or identify of a nonprofit organization that can serve as an interim management solution while a long-term solution is pursued. Initial support for this organization, in the form of an early leadership gift from a well-known foundation or individual philanthropist, would offer a greater sense of stability and public confidence moving forward. RECOMMENDATIONS A Public-Private Approach We recommend that a long-term solution for the property should integrate a public (nonprofit preservation organization) and a private (for-profit housing developer) set of owners/operators for two principal reasons: • There is a sustainable, earned revenue business model for a nonprofit, preservation-oriented organization to operate and program the majority of the property, but this business model will not sustain debt financing to purchase the property or tax costs to Cheltenham Township. CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia: The Dominican Retreat // Preliminary Report, page 5 • There is a preservation-sensitive for-profit housing development solution for a subdivision of the property that is likely to sustain the purchase costs desired by the Dominican Sisters and generate sufficient taxes for the local taxing authorities.