Catholic Church sold State lands worth millions US$(Correct)

Santo Domingo.- Ending months of silence, Dominican Republic’s Catholic Church on Friday said the sale of a lot worth millions of dollars once property of the State, was conducted in compliance with legislative norms.

The statement from the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, however, didn’t specify the sale price for the lot which could be as high as US$10.0 million, when compared with similar properties in the area.

It said with a part of the sale proceeds it acquired land located 14 kilometers north of the capital on the Duarte highway, which it affirms is 10 times bigger than the previous lot.

The new land, according to the archdiocese, will be used to build a seminary.

“The difference between the amounts received from the sale and purchase of this property is deposited in financial certificates of the Central Bank and bonds of the (State-owned) Reservas Bank for the purposes indicated above,” the statement said, adding that construction of the seminary will begin shortly.

The statement ends months of speculation into what transaction paved the way for construction of the nearly 20-story high Downtown Center, on lot of around 20,000 square meters, on the corner of Rómulo Betancourt and Núñez de Cáceres avenues, in the upscale sector, Bella Vista.