This pristine New Hampshire mansion is being sold for less than $30,000, but there’s a catch
The George B. Chandler home – a historic artifact in Manchester, New Hampshire – is being sold for $29,900 by the Diocese of New Hampshire.
147 Walnut Street in Manchester, New Hampshire has 20 bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and 9,505 square feet of living space. And the massive Queen Anne Victorian home is a historic one, built in 1878 by local businessman and entrepreneur, George B. Chandler.
A house like that is worth a lot. According to a 2015 assessment from the New Hampshire Tax Collector’s Office it’s worth $2,869,000.
So why is it being sold for less than $30,000? So an elderly congregation can get to church, that’s why.
Um, what?
Chandler’s home currently sits next door to St. Hedwig Catholic Church and has housed bishops and nuns since the Chandler family bequeathed it to the diocese in 1915.
But there are few nuns left to live in the large space, and the home is on real estate next to the church that could be more valuable…as a parking lot.
“The church next door is a very aging congregation that needs more direct access for the church,’’ Greg Barrett, the listing agent on the property from Kas-Bar Realty, Inc., told Boston.com. “They have to park far away and they need to create an area that is more immediate access from parking to the church.’’
Story continues after gallery.
See inside the Manchester home:
To make way for the lot, the Diocese of New Hampshire has put the home up for sale for only $29,900 – with a huge catch and a time limit.
147 Walnut Street needs to be completely uprooted from its current location next door to St. Hedwig by November 30, and the buyer has to cover the relocation costs.
The church realizes the historical significance the property has in the town and does not want to just demolish it – so they reached out to Barrett to see if he had any ideas.
“This was my primary suggestion to them,’’ he said. “I wasn’t overly optimistic about this approach, but the property has been on the market for two days and the response is overwhelming from all over the country.’’
The members of the Manchester community would like to see it moved and kept in their town, though Barrett mentioned that if that doesn’t work out, it can be moved out of state.
As you might expect moving a 10,000-square-foot historic home isn’t a simple task (or a cheap one). But Barrett has received one moving cost estimate from Wolfe House & Building Movers and was pleasantly surprised with what he heard – to move the Chandler house two miles the price would be $200,000, along with the $29,900 to purchase.
But not everyone is on board with the plan.
In a press conference put on by the Manchester Historic Association and the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday, October 21, the case was made for keeping the house in its current and original location.
John Clayton, executive director of the Manchester Historic Association, and the other historic society members believe that the “building is an important thread in the fabric of the city’s history,’’ given Chandler’s significance and the history of bishops living in the home.
“Out of place it loses a great deal of its significance,’’ Clayton said. “We have not communicated with the diocese. We are making our public statements and urging them to consider all options to keep it in place.’’
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