The Albion by Landmark Events

USA / Pennsylvania / Wyncote /
 restaurant, event manager
Former Elkins estate now adaptively reused as an event space.

landmarkvenues.com/venues/the-albion-pa/
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°4'21"N   75°8'22"W

Comments

  • The sisters have moved out as of April 2008. They had an auction of the furnishings on 4-23 and 4-24-2008. Westrum Development has purchased the 42 acre property and intends on converting it to a nursing home. It is unknown how they will integrate Chelten House (the classic wood framed mansion) and Elstowe Manor (the stone Italiante style mansion) into the conversion, which primarily centers around the more modern 90 bedroom building built by the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de’Ricci, who have owned the property for 72 years. While in the area, take a look at the more magnificant Lynnewood Hall, on the same street, before it comes crashing down (on its own or by a wrecking ball).
  • The Westrum people backed out of the deal. The property was acquired by a charity who, when interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer, stated that they have no idea how they were going to maintain the vast property. They suggested they may use it as a conference center and their offices.
  • Save Lynnewood Hall!!!!!!
  • A non-profit, Feed the World, created a holding company, funded it with $1.5M, and took out a $6.9M mortgage from the Nuns to buy the entire estate (both Elstowe Manor and Chelten House, the stables, and the other houses on the property. They now call it the "Elkins Estate". They then tried to buy the adjoining property, the former Tyler school of Art, also once another home owned by the Elkins family, but apparently couldn't finance it. In 2010, they failed to pay a $250k mortgage payment and the Nuns apparently foreclosed. To forestall eviction, the holding company declared bankruptcy. The legal mess is that they apparently have been co-mingling the holding company and the non-profit's money together, a very bad thing in the eyes of the IRS and the courts. In addition, the property is lost its tax exempt status because the Feed The World non-profit operates out of Chelten House, which is a very small part of the entire estate, and now has a $400K tax bill per year, which apparently is outstanding from 2010 (this being April 2011). The recent newspaper article states that the holding company has over 50 weddings and events scheduled, which is their only income from this huge property. One can only hope that, in the light of the recent money problems, they are not putting off maintenance of the buildings.
This article was last modified 2 years ago