[The Episcopal News] The Pasadena residence that has housed the last two bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and their families will be listed for sale next spring, the Standing Committee and Corporation of the Diocese (COTD) announced today.
Located in the Chapman Woods neighborhood northeast of San Marino, the one-acre property includes a three-bedroom main residence, guest house, tennis court, pool, and koi pond. Price and broker, specified in a resolution adopted by the COTD on July 15 and ratified today by the Standing Committee, will be announced when the property is listed for sale.
The decision to sell the property is based on study of the matter by a task force appointed by Bishop John Harvey Taylor, who asked its members to make a recommendation to the COTD.
The high relative cost of operating the 4,000-square-foot residence and large property, together with significant deferred maintenance expenses, were the primary factors prompting the sale, Canon Andy Tomat, diocesan treasurer, told The Episcopal News.
Dr. Charlotte Borst, member of the COTD board of directors and a parishioner of St. John’s Cathedral, was a task force member.
“With the election of a new bishop coming up in November, the Corporation of the Diocese is working on coming up with a compensation package that will include housing,” Borst told The News.
Task force member Mary Pierson, a parishioner of St. Cross in Hermosa Beach, assisted Borst in briefing the corporation on the task force’s findings.
“We looked at the current residence and determined as a committee that the highest and best use for the residence is to sell it,” Borst said. “This gives us maximum flexibility in providing for the needs of the next bishop. We will listen to the realtor for an assessment of the best time to list the house, but we believe it will probably be in February or March.”
Some of the proceeds will be earmarked for the incoming bishop diocesan’s housing expenses, Tomat said. The new bishop will be elected in November. No decision has been made about acquiring a new episcopal residence. The corporation pledged not to spend any proceeds on diocesan expenses beyond the new bishop’s housing needs.
In its July 16 resolution, the Standing Committee offered a further nuance: “While the Standing Committee affirms the Corporation of the Diocese’s assurance that remaining proceeds won’t be spent on other operations, it does not wish to constrain the next bishop and the diocese’s governing bodies.”
Candidates for election as the diocese’s eighth bishop – one of whom will succeed Bishop John Harvey Taylor upon his retirement next year – will be informed of the housing transition plan during their discernment retreat in August, Tomat said. Sale terms will allow Bishop Taylor’s occupancy through July 2026.
Tomat and Borst on July 10 briefed Diocesan Council, with members in executive session during their regular monthly meeting (see related coverage here).
Built in 1948 and purchased for the bishop diocesan’s use in 2002, the current episcopal residence and its gardens and tennis court have been the venue of numerous social events and fundraisers; however, attendance at these types of events has steadily declined in recent years, with alternate venues available locally, diocesan leaders concur.
The listing of the episcopal residence will follow the recent sale of the rectory of All Saints Church in Pasadena. Located in Pasadena’s Oak Knoll neighborhood, All Saints’ rectory sold for $5 million, significantly above the asking price, according to a July 8 announcement by the parish.
When listing the property. All Saints’ leaders noted that its rectory – donated to the parish in 1957 – has simply become financially unsustainable,” adding “it no longer represents the values we embrace and to which we aspire.”
The Pasadena listings also follow two similar transactions in Santa Barbara and Hancock Park, where the vestries of Trinity Church and St. James’ Wilshire, respectively, purchased smaller homes in desirable neighborhoods after selling large rectories in need of significant repairs deemed unaffordable.
Occupied since 2017 by Bishop Taylor and his spouse, Canon Kathy O’Connor, the Chapman Woods episcopal residence was procured for the diocese by the late Bishop J. Jon Bruno.
Previously, Bishop Frederick H. Borsch joined the diocese in purchasing a residence in L.A.’s Bel Air Skycrest neighborhood, and Bishop F. Eric Bloy lived in a diocesan residence in La Cañada Flintridge, while Bishop Robert C. Rusack owned his family residence in Pacific Palisades, as did Bishop W. Bertrand Stevens in South Pasadena, and Bishop Joseph H. Johnson on Grand Avenue and Lombardy Road in Pasadena.