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After failing to raise $17M necessary for a renovation, the Church of Scientology has agreed to sell the dilapidated Alexandra Hotel in the South End to a developer.
Eric Hoagland, son of CVS Pharmacy founder Ralph Hoagland, is the potential new owner of the 142-year-old property, the Boston Globe reports. The Boston branch of the church has owned the closed hotel since 2008 and had hoped to make it a new local headquarters. After coming to terms with the building’s poor condition and deciding it was too small for operations, the church decided to put it on the market in December 2014.
Hoagland’s Capital Management Group manages residential properties in Cambridge. The company signed a contract to purchase both the Alexandra and a neighboring property, but Hoagland stressed it could take a year for the deal to close.
South Enders have long desired something be done with the eyesore at Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Neighbors have pushed for a boutique hotel, condos or a mixed-use development, but previous deals to acquire the building have failed. A sale with two potential developers reportedly fell through in May. Hoagland declined to give details of his plans for the building.
“Like so many of the residents who have patiently waited for this building to be brought back to life, we see its beauty and promise, and very much look forward to engaging with our neighbors and other stakeholders to restore this property,” he said to the Globe.
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