BRIDGEPORT – Reverend Kenneth Moalis Jr. was supposed to evict Union Avenue Cathedral on Friday.
He had to this date been granted exit by a federal judge after his bank, Foundation Capital Resources, had been given a stringent lien on the cathedral and 14 other properties owned by Moales through his church institution, the Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love Inc.
But Mullis said Friday afternoon he was not going anywhere.
“We’re not going out today at all,” Moalis said. He claimed that they will appear in federal court on Monday to present evidence to support his position that he should not have been evictioned.
Moales announced last week that he had secured funding not only to buy back all of his holdings but to build 64 affordable housing units on Stratford Street.
“I know the clock is ticking but we have put together a lender that will give us $18 million to buy back our church and do more for the community,” Moalis said, standing in front of the large Christmas tree in the hotel lobby. His church is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
Moales did not reveal the name of the lender, describing it only as a “legitimate company that manages billions.” But he said he has the full support of Mayor Joe Ghanem and city officials not only in securing the loan but in the housing project.
He provided a letter written by Ghanem that Mwalis said he helped him get the loan as well as a letter from Thomas Gill, director of the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, supporting Peggy Mwalis Commons’ proposal – named after his mother – for the corner of Stratford and downtown roads.
Ghanem’s spokeswoman, Rowena White, confirmed that the mayor and Jill had written letters of support.
“Please be aware that the City continues to support the proposal and stands ready to remain engaged in a constructive partnership while it advances the proposal toward required approvals,” the letter from Jill states.
The housing project will be adjacent to the 35,000 square foot retail plaza Honey Locust Square currently under construction on Stratford Street.
“The mayor is supporting projects for much-needed neighborhoods in the city and this seems like a nice revitalization project,” White said. She added that the mayor’s letter seeking financial support for Mawalis was written in April while Mawalis was still going through the foreclosure process and was not related to Mawalis’ new loan claim.
Moalis, a former president of the city’s Board of Education, is the Senior Pastor of the Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love Church, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and CEO of CREAM Enterprises, a construction and management company.
In September 2017, according to court documents, more than four years after a legal battle that initially began in state court, US District Judge Jeffrey Meyer issued a foreclosure order against Moales for unpaid more than $12 million in debt to his bank. Capital Resources Corporation. That amount has since grown to more than $15 million.
After numerous court hearings, on May 29, 2020, a judge ordered the eviction of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Union Street along with the kingdom’s Little Oons day nursery, summer camp, a private school for Christian Love Academy – all at a Union Avenue address – and other operations he owns. Moales on Stratford Street and Central. Judge Moales refused to halt the eviction pending his appeal to the Second U.S. Court of Appeals, and ordered him to vacate the estate by January 7.
Last week, Moales withdrew his appeal.
Foundation Capital Resources’ attorney did not respond to emails for comment.
Last year, Foundation Capital Resources filed a separate lawsuit in federal court against nine property tenants including school and daycare operators. The bank is seeking to overturn the “alleged rent interest” of the nine defendants in the lawsuit. That lawsuit is pending.
Mwalis had previously accused Foundation Capital of engaging in fraudulent lending and predatory practices. However, in his ruling last year, the judge reiterated that he had evaluated Moles’ testimony “in great detail and concluded that it was not reliable or corroborated by the testimony of other witnesses or the entire record of documentary evidence presented at trial.”
