U. buys Christian Assoc. bldg.

Terms of the deal, which followed several years of contentious negotiations, were not disclosed. After 20 years of on- and off- negotiations, the University announced yesterday that it has finally purchased the Christian Association building on Locust Walk for an undisclosed price. In a joint statement, University President Judith Rodin and Rev. Beverly Dale, executive director of the CA, announced that Penn would take control of the 27,000-square foot property in the center of campus, while leasing the Westminster House at 37th and Sansom streets to the CA. "This is an incredibly valuable resource," Rodin said. "We think it's great for our entire University community." Neither side would comment on how much the University had paid for the building. Negotiations have often been contentious between the two sides. When the building went up for sale in 1997, the CA's asking price was $8 million. Penn offered $3 million in October 1997, which a top CA official at the time labeled "embarrassing." The University has not yet decided on a use for the CA building, which in the past had been considered as a possible site for a unity or interfaith center. "We plan to listen to campus development groups to come up with a use for the space," said Provost Robert Barchi, who has made a point during his nine-month tenure to diversify Locust Walk by moving academic centers onto the central campus thoroughfare. Barchi said he saw no need to rush the decision. Under the terms of the agreement, the CA will stay in the current building at 3601 Locust Walk until the end of the current academic year. The CA will then move to Westminster House, displacing the newly opened La Casa Latina student resource center. Rodin promised that La Casa Latina would receive space that is "equally good, if not better" than its current home. She also pointed out that leaders of the new Latino student center knew when it opened in September that they would likely have to move at the end of the year, and that she believed the move would be less harmful to the center than starting it a year later. Casa Latina Director Lilvia Soto was out of town and could not be reached for comment. The CA has been trying to divest the building since 1997 in order to channel more of its resources into campus ministry and leadership programs, Dale said. The organization's visible campus presence will not be altered, she added. The building is the home of the Palladium Restaurant and the Gold Standard, which both have leases running for at least the next two years. The building's second-floor Memorial Hall is frequently used for lectures and employer presentations. Rodin also said the decision to purchase the building was part of the campus development plan added in April to the Agenda for Excellence, the University's plan for overall improvement that was instituted in 1995. "This is an historic property and Penn understands and cherishes the history that it represents," Rodin said. "Architecturally interesting resources [like the Christian Association building] are in short supply." But the 70-year-old Christian Association building does not come without its problems. "There's considerable problems with the structure," Rodin said. Executive Vice President John Fry said the University will begin assessing the structural deficiencies and renovate the building as needed. Renovations will follow in two phases. The first, scheduled to begin in the fall of 2000, will address safety issues, while the second phase, set to begin the following semester, will consist of tailoring the building to the needs of its future occupants, Fry said. After so many years of talks, the final agreement came down to "getting the right people in the room at the same time," Dale said. And once Penn offered use of the Westminister House, she said it was just a matter of ironing out the details.