Katy Perry’s Plans to Buy Los Angeles Estate For Priests Fall Through

Pop star Katy Perry’s plans to buy a historic Los Angeles estate and donate it to a group of Catholic priests have fallen through.

The three-acre compound in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles is back up for sale for $5.595 million, a year after the local council voted in favor of the project with some conditions. The Catholic Archdiocese in collaboration with a company tied to Ms. Perry had planned to convert the 80-year-old Bekins estate—named after the businessman who built it, Martin Bekins—into a religious retreat with about 25 guest rooms.

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The sale had been bogged down in years of litigation and bureaucratic hurdles, but it’s not clear what exactly caused the project’s ultimate demise.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese, an architect on the project, reps for Ms. Perry and Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council did not immediately return requests for comment.

The church laid out plans for the retreat at a public neighborhood council meeting in November 2016, when a number of residents came out against the project, including one man who called the project a "sanitarium for a gaggle of wayward priests," according to meeting minutes.

The Archdiocese was applying to convert the mansion and grounds into a retreat fit to host 12 to 15 priests at a time. Construction plans included building a small silent chapel and a larger chapel for up to 50 people on the grounds. The main house would have had a silent dining room, regular dining room, lobby and underground parking, according to minutes from the November 2016 council meeting.

Responding to neighborhood concerns, the local council wanted to limit the scope of the project, including putting a historic designation on the home. The council also recommended reducing the number of priests that would be allowed to stay on the premises at any one time to a maximum of 10, according to papers filed with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning.

A family trust has owned the Bekins estate for decades, according to property records, and put the home back on the market last week.

As it stands today, the mansion—where President Ronald Reagan once gave an address—spans nearly 6,000 square feet and has nine bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and three guest houses. The main house, built in 1925, has games and billiard rooms, a bar and lounge and opens onto an outdoor dining area beyond which sits a pool and hot tub and croquet court, according to the listing with agent Laura Brandt of Partners Trust.

"It’s like a personal park with 360 degree views," Ms. Brandt said. It’s one of the largest lots in Eagle Rock.

This is not the first time Ms. Perry’s real estate exploits involved the Catholic church. Last year, The "Firework" singer won a years-long legal battle with a handful of elderly nuns that allowed her purchase an eight-acre convent from the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Community members speculated that Ms. Perry, 32, wanted to purchase the Bekins estate and donate it to the priests for the tax break, according to council meeting minutes from November 2016, which state that: "Ms. Perry may end up with a $15 (million) tax write-off."