Tag Archives: vacant lots

Vacant lots: not bought for $1 (and they’re costing Temple)

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The Temple News, by obtaining copies of the deeds to the three vacant lots owned by Temple, has learned that the lots were not bought for $1, as stated in a previous Broad & Cecil post.

Contrary to what the Board of Revision of Taxes Web site states, 1434 W. Diamond Street was bought for $3,750. 1436 W. Diamond St. was bought for $850.

Stephen Zook TTN

1434, 1436 W. Diamond St. (Stephen Zook TTN)

Also, Temple is still paying taxes on all three properties, which is costing the university hundreds of dollars – only a drop in the bucket compared to the multi-million dollar operating budget Temple runs, but still noteworthy.

Why is Temple spending money on these properties when they sit vacant? How long will it continue to spend money on properties that could be sold? Continue reading →

Temple owns vacant lots surrounding Main Campus

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The Temple News has learned that several lots in the vicinity of Main Campus are owned by the university. Three properties have been identified: 2334 N. Park Avenue (pictured below) and 1434 and 1436 Diamond Street.

A view of the Temple-owned lot from North Park Avenue.

A view of the Temple-owned lot from North Park Avenue.

The three lots were bought between February of 1970 and September of 1972. They may have been gifted to the university by the city, as city property records indicate they were bought for $1 each. A symbolic sale price of $1 is sometimes used when a property exchanges hands, but the property is given to the new owner by the old for no cost.

Assistant Vice-President of University Communications Ray Betzner said he was unaware of the properties or why Temple might have bought or been given them.

Peter J. Liacouras, former president of Temple, was unaware of the specific properties, but said Temple had bought several locations around what was at that time Main Campus, including the land on which a Buick dealership sat. That land is now the site of the Liacouras Center. Liacouras became president in 1983.

His predecessor, Marvin Wachman, who was president from 1973, passed away in late 2007. Stay tuned for more information on this little-known fact.