Allan Appel Photo
The Archdiocese of Hartford has formally put Sacred Heart Church in the Hill up for sale. Parishioners and neighbors fear the hallowed ground might turn into just another parking lot.
“I’d rather see a thriving congregation [there], regardless whether it’s Catholic or Buddhist,” said Hill South Alderwoman Dolores Colon.
Her wish just may come true.
The 1852 church building on Columbus Avenue, along with its refectory, convent, and school, currently houses the St. Martin De Porres Academy. The property comprises about 2.25 acres. The archdiocese is asking $2.5 million for land and buildings.
Real estate agent Arnold Grant, who is handling the sale for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said “To date, most of the interest expressed has been churches, religious communities.”
Such a sale would come as music to the ears of Helen Dawson and other neighbors who joined Colon on Monday to tour the shuttered buildings.
Dawson (pictured above) is the treasurer of Trowbridge Renaissance, a community group that has long labored to preserve the scale and historic character of Trowbridge Square, which backs onto Sacred Heart.
For Dawson and her neighbors, Sacred Heart has been used as a key community gathering space over the generations, the headquarters for campaigns, for example, to try to vanquish drugs from the neighborhood.
It has also been an attractive architectural buffer to the encroachment of institutional parking lots, such as the one fronting the Yale School of Nursing.
When Sacred Heart’s largely Latino congregation was combined controversial archdiocesan move last fall with nearby St. Anthony’s, rumors abounded that Yale would leap across the avenue for more parking or medical office use of the property.
“We don’t want a parking lot here. That’s definitely out,” said Alfreda Walker, who lives nearby.
In previous reports, Yale has expressed no interest in acquiring the building. Grant said he had not heard from Yale.
But if a new owner were to tear down the Italianate buildings of Sacred Heart, Trowbridge Square neighbors said, they would lose more than a buffer against cars.
As she surveyed Portsea Street and the square from the refectory behind the church, Dawson said: “By their ending all of this, our history leaves. The Freedom Trail goes through Trowbridge Square.”
Walker added that many houses in the area were stops on the Underground Railroad.
Trowbridge Renaissance President John Farrell has been in touch with the historic preservation office of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism to see if residents might have “a voice” at the table when the archdiocese considers to whom it is going to sell Sacred Heart.
“We understand the church’s need for generating revenue. On the other hand we would hope the ultimately disposition of the property would respect the history of neighborhood, “ Farrell said.
A call to the state commission on preservation was not returned by press time.
However, Grant said it likely would not. The compound is in an RM‑2 zone, which designates ecclesiastical, educational, residential, and perhaps government use, he said.
Grant said Sacred Heart is the third church he’s sold for the archdiocese. St. Casimir’s in Wooster Square became housing. St. Boniface on State Street was taken over by Trinity Baptist Church, and St. Peter’s at Kimberly Square became the new home for the Betsy Ross Magnet School and community performance space, he pointed out.
He said given the zoning and the national register designation, a continuation of church, residential, or educational use is most likely. Of the church or religious communities that have expressed interest, Grant would identify them only as “local.”
Anstress Farwell of the Urban Design League said that only a developer, not a church, could afford the $2.5 million price tag.
Several calls to the archdiocese were not returned in time for publication. However, Father Francis Snell said that the archbishop has resisted recommendations by inspectors to demolish Sacred Heart.
“The best possible [outcome] is to conserve it as part of the historical heritage of the Hill,”
Father Snell, who is with the archdiocese, spoke from the cab of his red pickup last week as he supervised work crews within the sanctuary.
Walker said months before she had seen the interior with the sculptures along the walls removed, pews gone in the front, and a hole in front of the altar. Father Snell would not allow a reporter inside to document the work.
Whatever the outcome, Colon said that space in the future Sacred Heart site would be critical to meet continued community need. The housing authority’s The Katherine Harvey Terrace houses right across Liberty Street have a 12 by 12 foot laundry room that doubles as community space.
“All those elderly people have grandchildren,” she said
Colon asked that the archdiocese keep her and the community informed as the sale process continues.
Arnold Grant said,” My responsibility is to sell the property. I keep people informed by responding when they call.”
St. Martin De Porres Director Jay Bowes said the school would like to buy the church buildings if it had the money. It doesn’t. “We have no control. We’re waiting and we’re seeing,” he said.
Real Estate Agent Grant said it was not likely the 17-year lease of the school would be affected by a new owner of Sacred Heart’s property. “The lease determines the occupancy of the building during the duration of the lease,” he added.