Fraternity-Testvériség, 1978 (56. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1978-04-01 / 2. szám
TOWARD THE FOURTH KOSSUTH HOUSE On September 9, 1977 the Board of Directors of the HRFA passed resolution No. 51: “A motion was made and seconded to authorize the Executive Committee to negotiate the sale of the Kossuth House located at 3216 New Mexico Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. for the amount of $1,500,000.00. If the amount is lower, then a referendum vote will be called. Unanimously passed.” After six months negotiations with prospective buyers the Board of Directors accepted the proposal of the Government of Finland to purchase the property for $1,300,000.00. The building will be used as the Embassy of Finland. The settlement date was March 13, 1978. The HRFA used the building rent free for 90 days from the date of settlement. This was the largest financial transaction in the 81 years history of the Federation. The building was completed in 1963 at the cost of $408,514.00. The 300 percent profit was due to the inflated escalation of real estate value, good location and the artistically impressive front of the building. The property was appraised for $725,000.00. Our Financial Counsellor recommended that “any offer over and above $1,- 000,000.00 be given serious consideration.” The sale of the third Kossuth House is considered an advantageous business transaction for the HRFA because it will increase the assets of the Federation substantially and also will increase its solvency ratio. The sale was not a “must” for the Federation. The assets for each $100 of liabilities for the HRFA as of December 31, 1977 was $112.08; the average of the 25 largest life insurance companies was $104.73. Some of our members may ask why didn’t we keep the third Kossuth House in the Capital? It is a well designed ideal building for an embassy, but not for a home office of a fraternal organization. One third square footage of the building was seldom used. The seating capacity of the meeting room on the first floor is 25 and in the basement less than 50. The building has four floors but the elevator services three floors only. The caretaker’s apartment is on the fourth floor. The fourth floor is also used for filing storage. It is very inconvenient for the caretaker to open the door for visitors or delivery in the evening hours and the week-ends. However, the fourth floor as a sealed-off place from the rest of the building is an ideal security place for an embassy. We were proud of our Kossuth House building. It was a landmark of beauty. It was an asset to the image of the HRFA and the Hungarian people in the United States. However, the last submitted proposal by the Government of Finland was so impressive that the National Officers and the Board of Directors just had to accept it. The question we had to answer was: could we be justified to use such an expensive palace for our administrative and business office? Would it be wiser to invest a considerable portion of the money into high interest yielding bonds and use the balance of money to build the fourth Kossuth House building according to modern business standards? As we are looking ahead and making plans for the future we must realize that the buildings of the HRFA or the Bethlen Home whether they are located in Washington or Ligonier, they are only instrumental means to give efficient fraternal and charitable service to our members and friends. We moved from the Kossuth House on June 3rd, Saturday. Our Executive Vice-President had the experience of moving from the “P” Street home office known as the second Kossuth House into the DuPont Circle rented place and two years later into the third Kossuth House on New Mexico Avenue. Naturally, in view of his past experiences he was placed in charge of the moving project with the understanding that the National Officers will be responsible for their respective departments. The coordinated operation started at 8:00 A.M. and ended at 10:00 P.M. Please take official notice that our temporary address from June 5, 1978 to August 31, 1979 will be: Hungarian Reformed Federation of America Post Office Box 34917 Washington, D.C. 20034 Telephone: 301-770-1144 Afterwards we shall move into our newly purchased or constructed building. The Executive Committee. FRATERNITY Official Organ of The Hungarian Reformed Fed. of America Edited by Officers of the Federation Published quarterly — four times a year. Subscription for non-members in U.S.A. and Canada $3, elsewhere $3 a year. Office of Publication: Bethlen Press, Inc., Ligonier, Pa. 15658 POSTMASTER:—Send Form 3579 to Editorial Office: P. O. Box 34917, Washington, D. C. 20034. Telephone: (301) 770-1144. Editorial Committee: Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor— Rt. Rev. Arpad George, President Associate Editors— László L. Eszenyi, Executive Vice-President, Elmer E. Vargo, Secretary, Joseph S. Molnár, Treasurer. Second Class Postage Paid at the Post Office in Ligonier, Pa. 15658. 2
