carverCarolyn Misch <cmisch@northamptonma.gov>
St. John Cantius Church
David Carver <dcarver@scarafoniassociates.com>Mon, Aug 2, 2021 at 10:00 PM
To: "cmisch@northamptonma.gov" <cmisch@northamptonma.gov>
Dear Board members of the Central Business Architectural Committee:
Please accept this communication in support of saving the St. John Cantius church building.
I have read many newspaper articles and discussed this matter with a number of community members over the past year and while I
cannot speak to technical details of the local permitting process that must be followed in order to demolish a historic building I urge you
to consider every avenue available to allow preservation of this building.
After buying and renovating several churches in Berkshire County over the past ten years I have become very familiar with the physical
challenges of adaptively re-using these structures. In this case, I can state with some certainty that this building which I understand
was built around 1913 is of superior structural design and most likely includes concrete foundations, steel roof frame, and substantially
built masonry walls. Buildings of this quality that are well maintained were designed to last hundreds of years. During this period the
Catholic Church spared no expense in designing and building these churches.
More importantly these buildings represent a period in our history when architecture was practiced as a high art form in our religious,
government, commercial, and residential buildings, even in small New England towns. There is an undeniable human connection to
these buildings that contribute to the feel and look of our communities unlike most of the new buildings that have been built over the
past fifty to sixty years.
Additionally, these buildings represent a rich and important cultural foundation for our communities that connects past and present
residents.
These buildings cannot be replaced in terms of cost, quality, and what they contribute to the fabric of our cities and towns.
While these are all good reasons to preserve these beautiful structures I recognize it can be a challenge to make them financially
feasible. However, we have been able to create 62 units of badly needed market rate residential housing in nine church buildings with
creative designs, value engineering, lowering our return on investment, working with the church, and working with each community
development department to create financing plans to fill the ever present gap that these projects often begin with.
I urge you to make every effort to preserve this building. If our small company in the Berkshires can do this I am sure there are many
regional developers that are capable and willing to invest in this unique property if given the opportunity.
David G. Carver
CT Management Group, LLC
Scarafoni Associates
North Adams and Pittsfield, MA
413 884-4939
dcarver@scarafoniassociates.com
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