MANKATO — The former sisters who until recently lived on Good Counsel Hill, as well as many residents in the community, were thrilled that longtime local developer Mike Drummer — a big supporter of Good Counsel — agreed to purchase the sprawling property for redevelopment.
But Drummer is not able to move ahead with the purchase after a partner in the deal — Adult & Teen Challenge — had to drop its plans to purchase part of the property for an inpatient treatment center because of vehement opposition from some parents and supporters of Loyola Catholic Schools, which is near the proposed development project.
“The School Sisters of Notre Dame are sad to share that Mike Drummer and his development group are not able to proceed with the purchase and redevelopment of the Our Lady of Good Counsel property in Mankato,” said a statement from Sister Debra Marie Sciano, provincial leader of the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province.
After Adult & Teen Challenge was forced to drop plans because of the opposition, Drummer unsuccessfully looked for other partners for the project and notified the province that he was unable to purchase and redevelop the property.
The province said the sisters will “explore all options for the sale of OLGC, including groups that have expressed interest in the past. SSND will maintain the property until a new buyer is identified.”
At this time, the Living Earth Center and Loyola Catholic School will continue to operate on the hill.
Drummer could not be immediately reached for comment Monday night.
There was excitement early last year when it was announced Drummer would be the potential developer of the property.
But during public meetings about Adult & Teen Challenge planning to open a drug and alcohol treatment center in part of the former School Sisters of Notre Dame campus, opposition boiled over.
The facility would have housed about 70 adult men on the campus as they went through inpatient treatment that would last from weeks up to 13 months.
“I believe in the work we are doing. We’re saving lives,” said one of the leaders of Adult & Teen Challenge.
But much of the large crowd attending the meeting said having the facility next to Loyola School raised safety concerns.
“Putting a place like this next to a school doesn’t make sense to a lot of us,” said one attendee, getting claps and cheers from a large segment of the crowd.
Others in attendance, however, chided those in opposition, saying the treatment facility is needed and fit perfectly with the mission of the nuns who lived at Good Counsel for more than a century.
Drummer had plans to renovate the 100 apartment units the nuns previously lived in as affordable one-bedroom apartments that would rent for about $600 a month. But he said the deal hinged on Adult & Teen Challenge buying two buildings on the campus, one of which was an assisted-living facility for the nuns.
Drummer said he promised the nuns he’d preserve the campus as much as possible.
Adult & Teen Challenge has seven facilities around Minnesota that serve teens, men and women. They said at the meeting that in 35 years serving 24,000 clients they’ve never had an issue with a client assaulting a member of the public.
The facilities are faith based and have strict rules and requirements for clients. They do background checks on all potential clients, and no one with a sexual assault charge or conviction or other violent offense would have been accepted in the Mankato facility.
As the largest treatment program in the state, they consistently get top marks from independent agencies and have the highest success rate of anyone with 80% of clients remaining sober after six months.
One man in the crowd at the public meeting said Good Counsel was an “ideal location” for the treatment center and said it’s a “hospital-like” facility. “You’d be the best neighbor you could get.”
But others raised a variety of concerns over safety.
After the backlash, Adult & Teen Challenge said they would look for another location in Mankato.
The province decided in 2018 to sell off properties on four U.S. campuses, including at Good Counsel in Mankato. In April 2021, an announcement was made that they would be selling their entire Mankato property other than a cemetery.
Loyola Catholic Schools will remain on the eastern half of the campus. The historic Our Lady of Good Counsel buildings, the sisters’ living spaces and the chapel are to be sold.