A few weeks ago when Avera came to the city council for permission to bulldoze a block of affordable housing to build a retirement apartment for nuns, I thought to myself ‘Why doesn’t Avera just rehab the house across the street for apartments?” Remember when Avera said the house was in to bad of shape to rehab?

I walked by today to see that was NOT the case. It seems a private builder is working on the house to convert it into a 4 or 5 plex (by looking at the electrical box). A parking lot has also been already poured.

Wouldn’t this have made a great place for retired nuns volunteering their time at the Hospital?

17 Thoughts on “This place would have made a great apartment complex for nuns

  1. scott on April 21, 2019 at 7:41 pm said:

    the nuns, who have taken a vow of poverty, are worth millions through their hospital.

  2. l3wis on April 21, 2019 at 8:51 pm said:

    I heard once that when Bishop Carlson moved into his diocese home next to the cathedral that he decided to redecorate to his tastes. His mom was said to spend $30K just on window dressings.

    When you ever see someone higher up in the Catholic Church, look at their jewelry, the stuff isn’t usually Kmart watch counter stuff.

  3. "Very Stable Genius" on April 21, 2019 at 9:08 pm said:

    Speaking of Catholicism and people:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/world/europe/yellow-vest-notre-dame.html?login=email&auth=login-email

    – Also –

    “….the stuff isn’t usually Kmart watch counter stuff.”

    What? A Timex could always “keep on ticking….” And, I also miss the Kmart sub sandwiches, too… They couldn’t be beat!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NHq3Yze6s0

    #MakeKmartGreatAgain!

  4. anonymous on April 21, 2019 at 9:44 pm said:

    The nuns used to live in that house.

  5. Thomas on April 21, 2019 at 10:50 pm said:

    This post reminds me of the time when I was directing a community fundraiser. So many “helpful” people would stop me on the street or call me at home to let me know from whom I should be seeking donations of money and land for the project. These “helpful” people were very good at pointing out their so-called wealthier neighbors whom they believed/assumed hadn’t given enough to help people or assumed that other people had a tax problem and needed to make a contribution to add another deduction on their taxes. It amazes me how you and those “helpful” people always have an opinion about how to spend other peoples’ money but never offer your own.

  6. l3wis on April 22, 2019 at 8:25 am said:

    Not sure what this has to do with donations or charitable giving? But you are trying to make a point, I guess. Yes, Avera could have saved $$$ by just rehabbing that house. They could have saved a whole block of affordable housing. And they could have added another charming residence to the neighborhood. But apparently I’m not supposed to point out the obvious unless I’m donating money to the organization, then I can tell them all the wrong things they are doing with my donation? LOL.

  7. matt johnson on April 22, 2019 at 11:49 am said:

    Retired nuns? maybe they need to live on one level – or have elevators- as opposed to the two story house with basement

  8. Stiles Bitchley on April 22, 2019 at 12:06 pm said:

    But when you actually take a few minutes to think about it, it’s not so simple. There is absolutely no way that residence could have been refurbed into a facility to house elderly nuns. Not just the plumbing, electrical and HVAC which would be a huge undertaking, but door widths, entrances and bathing, showering, toileting facilities, elevators, etc to make it a real usable space for retired individuals many of whom already need and most if not all of whom will most certainly need more of a nursing home environment.
    I’m sure the individual refurbing the home will be able to do so and provide nice housing for able bodied individuals, but it is not realistic to think Avera could have made it into a usable facility for elderly nuns.

  9. l3wis on April 22, 2019 at 3:02 pm said:

    Avera never said they were building a ADA facility for nuns. They did however say they wanted the facility close to Avera so they could volunteer. So my assumption is if they are NOT building an ADA facility and the nuns are able bodied to walk to the hospital and volunteer, my guess is they can probably take a few stairs.

    As for telling someone what to do with their property, that wasn’t the case at all. Avera is the one that said that this property had to be demolished and they couldn’t fix it, but golly gee, someone else buys it and is fixing it up. I guess it is fine to do whatever you want to with your property, just don’t lie to us about it.

  10. Stiles Bitchley on April 22, 2019 at 3:59 pm said:

    How many nuns do you know? I know a lot of them. Almost all of them are old and will need a facility that is ADA compliant. Avera doesn’t need to run everything by you. The property was not useful to them for their needs. So someone else bought it and is adapting to THEIR needs. Avera is building a property that is suitable to THEIR needs. They didn’t lie to you or anyone else. Your assumption was wrong and you know what happens when you assume.

  11. l3wis on April 22, 2019 at 4:23 pm said:

    They did lie. They said the house could NOT be rehabbed. They never said, “It doesn’t fit our needs.” or “We don’t want to personally fix it up, but if someone else does, that is fine with us.” They flat out claimed it was NOT in good enough shape to fix up for anybody. Last I checked that is LYING.

  12. kurtz on April 22, 2019 at 5:47 pm said:

    Think about what’s happening here: this is a federally-subsidized catholic hospital operating as an oligopoly, funneling money to parishes paying settlements or hush money for the sins of predatory priests paid for by insurers and patients. So if these hospitals are monopolies like utilities are, or even oligopolies in their markets, why isn’t there a voter-elected public commission to regulate pricing?

  13. Thomas on April 22, 2019 at 7:35 pm said:

    Kurtz: I live here, you do not. Quit snarking about all the things that you perceive as evil in South Dakota and get busy doing things wherever it is that you call home these days. Every opinion that you put forward always comes back to the fact that you are an anti-Catholic fascist.

  14. anonymous on April 22, 2019 at 9:01 pm said:

    Avera is run by Presentation nuns.

    When they are elderly and disabled they return to their mother house in Aberdeen to live out the rest of their lives.

  15. scott on April 22, 2019 at 9:37 pm said:

    kurtz, where ever he lives, pretty much hit the nail on the head. sanford does the same thing, except they funnel money to kelby’s sporting follies.

  16. kurtz on April 23, 2019 at 8:58 am said:

    Catholicism is hope like gonorrhea is charity.

    Although nothing untoward ever happened to me as an altar boy for Fr. Louis J. Miller at Our Lady of Good Counsel a high school girlfriend told me their family attended Mass in Aurora because Miller had done something bad in Alaska then was transferred in the late 1950s to the Elkton parish under Sioux Falls cleric, Lambert Hoch. Hoch was born in Elkton. Marlboro-smoking, scotch-drinking Louis Miller was elevated to monsignor, built a gorgeous church and grade school, coached St. Mary’s basketball then was decapitated in an automobile accident near Pierre in 1968.

    Fr. Leonard Fox, the bean-counter who succeeded him and assigned to pay the bills was a greasy sleazeball who drove me from catholicism.

    Pennsylvania used a grand jury for the statewide investigation of predator priests and the Philadelphia Diocese is the bishopric of former Rapid City cleric Charlie Chaput but don’t expect suspected incel Jason Ravnsborg, Attorney General, former altar boy and member of the Church of the Holy Roman Kiddie Diddlers to take on both South Dakota Dioceses.

  17. l3wis on April 23, 2019 at 9:06 am said:

    “Church of the Holy Roman Kiddie Diddlers”

    That brings a whole new perspective to ‘Minnow Munchers’, maybe they need to be called ‘Minor Munchers’ 🙂

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