The Freedom Valley Chronicles:
The Salvation Army
Owner Of 13 Houses In Plymouth and Whitemarsh
Part One
January 2, 2018
This house in the East Meadows neighborhood of Plymouth Township
is one of thirteen houses owned by The Salvation Army.
You may know of The Salvation Army as an organization that does good works by providing social services to homeless individuals and families, people with developmental disabilities, and people recovering from addiction.
You may know of The Salvation Army from the bell ringing you hear as you enter stores during the Christmas season. In recent weeks, you may have dropped some coins or a buck in a red kettle in front of Boscov’s Department Store at the Plymouth Meeting Mall to help financially support The Salvation Army.
You may not realize that The Salvation Army is also a church. A distinct religious denomination. Its good works – from providing food to the hungry and sheltering those that need emergency housing – are part and parcel of its religious faith.
(To learn more about the religious faith of The Salvation Army, please click here for Part Two of this news article.)
You also may not realize that The Salvation Army is likely one of the largest owners of single-family houses in Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. The thirteen houses owned by The Salvation Army are located in a number of neighborhoods throughout the Freedom Valley, including in Plymouth Valley, Lafayette Hill, and Plymouth Meeting.
Collectively, these thirteen houses are worth an estimated $4,054,034.50.
The houses were purchased for a total of $1,788,400.00 by The Salvation Army during the past 52 years.
Annual property taxes paid by The Salvation Army are estimated to be $59,884.00.
The Cardinal View neighborhood of Plymouth Township includes
a house owned by The Salvation Army.
These houses are utilized by The Salvation Army to provide housing for members of its clergy.
“Each of the residences…is used to provide housing (parsonage) for Salvation Army Officers (clergy) who serve in the Philadelphia area,” explained Major Carl E. Avery, Divisional Secretary for Business Administration of The Salvation Army Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Division. “We work under an "appointment system" with an average stay of about four years, so rather than have our Officers hunt for housing with each move, housing is provided by the organization.”
“Philadelphia hosts a number of Salvation Army centers which include the Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Divisional Headquarters, an Adult Rehabilitation Center, and the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in addition to a number of other Corps Community Centers (churches) in the area,” Major Avery continued.
A number of officers (clergy) of The Salvation Army are housed with their families in these homes in Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships.
“Of the 13 properties, 8 houses are for Officers who serve in administrative roles, managing all Salvation Army operations in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware; 2 houses are for Officers serving at our Adult Rehabilitation Center; 1 house is for the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center; and 2 houses are for other Corps centers in the area,” explained Major Avery.
The Lafayette Hill section of Whitemarsh Township is the locale of
four houses owned by The Salvation Army.
The thirteen houses were purchased by The Salvation Army using funds contributed by donors that chose specific ways to support the organization.
“No operating dollars are used to fund the purchase of properties for use by The Salvation Army,” explained Major Avery. “The funding comes from investment reserves which result from bequests and legacies by donors who choose to support The Salvation Army in this way.”
Eleven of the thirteen houses were purchased for a total of $1,788,400.00. Purchase price data on the other two houses was not available.
Information on each of the house purchase prices is as follows:
House in Cardinal View neighborhood - $251,000.00
House in East Meadows neighborhood – Not Available
House in Hickory Terrace neighborhood - $39,000.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $205,000.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $47,000.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $180,000.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $40,500.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $133,000.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood – $136,000.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood – Not Available
House in Plymouth Towne neighborhood - $238,000.00
House in Plymouth Valley area - $439,900.00
House in Whitemarsh Estates - $79,000.00
The houses have been purchased during the past 52 years.
Information on the dates of the house purchases is as follows:
1965 - House in East Meadows neighborhood
1967 - House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood
1973 - House in Hickory Terrace neighborhood
1973 - House in Lafayette Hill area
1973 - House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood
1980 - House in Whitemarsh Estates
1989 - House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood
1993 - House in Lafayette Hill area
1994 - House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood
1995 - House in Lafayette Hill area
1999 - House in Cardinal View neighborhood
1999 - House in Plymouth Towne neighborhood
2017 - House in Plymouth Valley area
Four houses in the Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood of
Plymouth Township are owned by The Salvation Army.
The thirteen single-family houses have an estimated value of $4,054,034.50.
This estimate is based on using the Common Level Ratio Factor of 1.85 (issued by the State Tax Equalization Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) and multiplying that factor by the property tax assessments issued by Montgomery County. Using that process, information on the estimated value of each of the houses is as follows:
House in Cardinal View neighborhood - $413,530.50
House in East Meadows neighborhood – $282,402.50
House in Hickory Terrace neighborhood - $305,509.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $340,955.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $302,771.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $333,462.50
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $244,163.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $275,816.50
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood – $277,685.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood – $242,572.00
House in Plymouth Towne neighborhood - $295,704.00
House in Plymouth Valley area - $360,361.50
House in Whitemarsh Estates - $379,102.00
This house in Whitemarsh Township is one of the 13 houses owned by
The Salvation Army in the Colonial School District.
While the house purchases were funded by investment reserves that came from donors that provided bequests and legacies to The Salvation Army, those reserve funds do not cover the regular costs to maintain the houses.
“The residences are not "endowed",” explained Major Avery. “Any day-to-day expenses come from our general operating budget.”
Among the day-to-day expenses are property taxes.
The Salvation Army pays full property taxes on its residential real estate in Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships.
The total annual property tax bill is estimated to be $59,884.00 for the residential properties in these two municipalities for Year 2017.
The estimated property taxes for these thirteen single-family houses are as follows:
House in Cardinal View neighborhood - $6,113.00
House in East Meadows neighborhood - $4,176.00
House in Hickory Terrace neighborhood - $4,507.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $5,030.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $4,467.00
House in Lafayette Hill area - $4,918.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $4,078.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $3,610.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $4,106.00
House in Plymouth Meeting Park neighborhood - $3,586.00
House in Plymouth Towne neighborhood - $4,372.00
House in Plymouth Valley area - $5,328.00
House in Whitemarsh Estates - $5,593.00
The total amounts of estimated property taxes listed are the amounts estimated by Montgomery County to be due for each of the individual properties during Year 2017. Property taxes include taxes paid to the Colonial School District, Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Community College, and either Plymouth Township or Whitemarsh Township.
In Part Three, we’ll discuss the reasons why The Salvation Army purchased these thirteen houses in Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships.
Credits:
Photos of houses are courtesy of Montgomery County.
Do you have questions about local history? A street name? A building?
Your questions may be used in a future news article.
Contact Richard McDonough at freedomvalleychronicles@gmail.com.
© 2018 Richard McDonough