The odd real estate battle that's got nuns and nightlife maven Dana Hollister fighting against an archbishop and Katy Perry is heading to court on Thursday, the LA Times reports. The nuns of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary made a deal to sell their stately convent in the hills of Los Feliz to Hollister, who plans to turn the place into a hotel, but they didn't know that Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez was simultaneously trying to sell the estate to Katy Perry, who would use it as a private residence where she will reportedly drink tea with her mom and grandmother and find herself. So now the archdiocese is suing to stop the sale to Hollister and everyone's alleging all kinds of manipulation of the elderly nuns.
Hollister, who owns Echo Park's Brite Spot diner, has already been hanging out at the convent, located on a hilltop near Griffith Park Boulevard and Rowena. Her plan to turn the property into a boutique hotel would require a zoning change that the mansion-owning neighbors will probably not support, but, unlike Perry, she at least wants to open the compound up so that everyone can enjoy its sort-of Medieval charm. (Hollister's first hotel project, a church conversion in Silver Lake, was held up for years by community opposition and still hasn't opened.) Hollister has also agreed to pay $15.5 million—$1 million more than Perry's offer to the archdiocese. Hollister says she has financing lined up to pay the sisters as soon as the lawsuit is dropped.
Perry's plan to turn the convent back into a private residence would line up with its original use. The convent was built in 1927 by architect Bernard Maybeck (his only "well-authenticated" work in LA) for Earle C. Anthony, the founder of KFI-AM and the owner of several Packard dealerships. The singer has supposedly been interested in buying the place for quite a while, and would be paying her $14.5 million for it in cash.
The court hearing this week is the archdiocese's attempt to void the nuns' sale of the convent to Hollister. There will be another hearing in October to see who actually has the power to sell the property—the sisters or the archdiocese.
· Disputed sale of convent to Katy Perry goes to judge [LAT]
· Katy Perry and Elderly Nuns Fighting For Control Of Spectacular Los Feliz Convent [Curbed LA]