12/8/2023 0 Comments Pinball life facebookFrancis, with its vacant school building, is planned to be the permanent home of brand-new Catholic high school Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope. Benedict, is up for sale and has been proposed as the site of a new affordable housing project. Marciano said three Warwick parishes have closed in recent years. “This is by far our largest purchase,” he said, “and we are excited to see where it goes.” As a result, most of the properties they’ve worked with are in Providence, and a few in Warwick. Out of state properties, Matt says, take away the time that he’d rather be spending with his family. Matt lives in Warwick and Bob in Massachusetts, and both of them have children. The final factor in the purchase was the location close to home. Churches are exempt from income and property taxes, so putting the building to secular use means Warwick will receive tax money it didn’t have before. “Financially it’s a win” for the city as well, he says. Tonning says the property is “in the ballpark of 6- to 8,000” square feet, with the building in high-quality condition, acquired at an appealing price per square foot. Catherine has emotional value to the Tonnings, Matt can still think like a businessman about the sale. Catherine parish buildings were left vacant and put up for sale at an asking price of $1 million.Īlthough St. Tobin to make the decision to merge both St. Catherine between 20), knowledge of Plante’s impending retirement led Bishop Thomas J. Coupled with declining Mass attendance and sacramental activity (only three marriages, eight baptisms, and 13 First Communions were performed at St. The convent was sold in 1988.īy 2014, the modern religious vocations shortage led St. In 1955, it acquired a nearby home, which it remodeled in 1971 to add a convent. Catherine originally opened in Apponaug in 1919, following a three-year construction period that had suffered delays due to the onset of World War I. Kevin Parish and president of Bishop Hendricken High School, there are three reasons a church might be closed and the building relegated “from sacred to profane,” or secular, use: structural issues, a lack of funds, and a decline in the number of parishioners. (Spoiler alert: it got stolen.)Īccording to Fr. Matt laughs again as he recalls a story from his teenage years when he rode his bike to church without bringing a lock, ignoring his father’s advice under the assumption that no one would steal a bike from a church. David Ricard, the pastor during Matt and Bob’s youth - “as close to a saint as anyone could be,” says Matt - is still a family friend. Catherine and many years later, his two daughters would be baptized there as well. The Tonning family moved to Warwick when Bob was young. And there’s another reason this is a special purchase: the Tonnings grew up as St. “We love the buildings…” says Matt, “and like to keep their history going for many years to come.” This is their first Catholic church, however. The brothers are no stranger to working with church buildings, having previously purchased two others, one in Niagara Falls, Canada (now a vacation rental property) and one in Conway, New Hampshire (now a pair of single-family homes). Tonning claims what the Church deems “sordid” could range from an abortion clinic to, amusingly, a “pinball arcade.” “I’m not sure where that one came from.”Īnything is on the table, he says, but first they have to navigate what uses are permitted under Roman Catholic canon law, which dictates that former churches cannot be used for “sordid” purposes. Catherine is being turned into apartments. Matt Tonning, who manages Bluth alongside his brother, Bob, said they “fully intend on keeping the structure as is.” They haven’t yet decided what they’re going to do with the building. Catherine Church that has been a part of Apponaug Village since 1917 was recently sold by the Diocese of Providence to Bluth, LLC for $1 million.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |