Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral Receives $50 Million Offer
(CNS) – The owners of the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral Saturday were mulling over a $50 million offer from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange for the mega-church’s 35-acre property and core buildings in Garden Grove.
The diocese, which is looking for a bigger sanctuary, joins Chapman University in Orange and real estate developer Green Law Acquisitions in bidding for the property. The church began as a drive-in theater in Orange 55 years ago, where the Rev. Robert H. Schuller started cultivating his flock.
An attorney for the diocese, Alan H. Martin, said the church was willing to pay $50 million in cash within 30 days of the bankruptcy court’s approval of the reorganization plan. That plan, however, must first be approved by the Crystal Cathedral Ministries Board and the Creditors Committee.
The next bankruptcy hearing is set for Aug. 1. Martin said the diocese would give the Crystal Cathedral up to three years to phase out its operations and could lease some of the buildings, such as the Family Life Center on Chapman Avenue, to the Crystal Cathedral.
The Crystal Cathedral filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Oct. 18.
The Diocese of Orange owns land in Santa Ana where it has planned to build a cathedral. The nine-acre site is at 2001 W. MacArthur Blvd., next to Segerstrom High School. County property tax records show the land has an assessed value of $19.3 million, although no tax is due because of its religious ownership.
