After almost a decade on the market, Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park has been sold — and saved

Lynnewood Hall, the 34-acre Gilded Age estate in Elkins Park, was sold Friday, after spending nearly a decade on the market. The property was purchased by the nonprofit Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation from longtime owner Richard S. Yoon, pastor of the First Korean Church of New York.

Representatives from the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation declined to disclose the purchase price, which was not reflected in public record as of Friday afternoon. They said they have raised $9.5 million to date, a sum that covers the purchase of the estate and near-term operations, as well as stabilization efforts that began when the house first went under contract in October.

Led by executive director Edward Thome, the group behind the purchase was officially designated a nonprofit only a year ago but it has collectively been working toward this goal since 2018. The group intends to restore and preserve the 110-room mansion and sprawling estate, with an emphasis on education and community. Eventually, it plans to open it to the public.

“This is going to be an extended process of restoration because the house is massive. And we want to use every component of it for education in the skilled trades,” Thome said. “Once we get past the major restoration, it’ll start morphing into more of a cultural art center and event space.”

The purchase of the former Widener family estate marks a major step toward salvation for the 123-year-old house, whose condition has been deteriorating since the 1970s. Its most opulent features were long ago stripped and sold by previous owners, but its exceptionally built bones — and even some precious details — are still intact and worth saving.

“There’s a common misperception that the building is in very bad shape, and there’s a lot in the building that’s not,” said Jennifer Robinson, a Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation board member and the director of preservation services for Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

The nonprofit raised the capital for the purchase through small and large contributions from various benefactors, including Pottstown-based entrepreneur Scott Bentley and his wife, Susan, who both serve on the board.

“Since our first tour of the property, we’ve been fascinated by its potential in bringing the Gilded Age experience to current and future generations,” he said in a statement. “We are proud to play a role in bringing the property back to its former glory, and making it available to everyone, particularly its neighbors in Cheltenham Township.”

The foundation has already begun replacing windows, repairing the roof, removing overgrowth, and commissioning a conditions assessment. Thome, chief operating officer Angie Van Scyoc, and facilities site manager Tyler Schumacher have taken up offices in the building. Besides stabilization, their immediate focus will be raising money.

“We find ourselves in a good place for being able to [keep going with] the operations we put in place for the next three to six months, but we need to start raising funds to be able to prepare for the winter coming up,” said Van Scyoc.

Fund-raising efforts include online donations as well as select film and photo shoots, such as the fashion shoot for Australian luxury brand Zimmermann that took place at the house earlier this month.

The group is guarded about the prospect of any on-site events in the near future.

“Before we can really think about too much activity on-site for fundraising, we really have to deal with asbestos remediation, things like that, so we’re not creating an unsafe situation,” Robinson said. “We need to get a lot of things in order.”

While the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers have their work cut out for them as they try to undo decades of decay, Thome and Van Scyoc had words of appreciation for the house’s previous owner.

“Dr. Yoon really was set to not let this go into the hands of developers,” Van Scyoc said. “And in that way, he saved Lynnewood Hall.”