SJCC-ODC-CPA letter of support.pdfC.W. Kraus Preservation & Development
133 Hamilton Street New Haven, CT 06511
cwkraus1@yahoo.com
Community Preservation Committee of Northampton
c/o: Sarah LaValley
slavalley@northamptonma.gov
March 15, 2022
RE: Support for ODG’s Amended Application for CPA Funds for Preservation of SJCC
Dear Committee Members,
On behalf of the Friends of St. John Cantius Church (the “Friends”), I am writing in support of O’Connell
Development Group’s (“ODG”) amended application for Community Preservation Act (“CPA”) funding.
For over twenty years, I have been a Connecticut-based, mission-driven developer and consultant who
specializes in the redevelopment of historic buildings. Overall, I have more than 35 years’ experience in
real estate, real estate development and real estate finance.
In August 2021, the Friends engaged me and my development team for several months to analyze St.
John Cantius Church’s current condition and potential for adaptive reuse. My team members and a
brief description of their credentials are listed on the next page. ODG was good enough to facilitate our
analysis by granting us access to the building.
We found the building to be structurally sound (though in need of maintenance) and suitable for
adaptive reuse for a variety of purposes.
While I cannot comment on the total amount of ODC’s request since I do not have access to all their
figures, I can say that all the new uses we analyzed would require a substantial subsidy of some kind,
such as historic tax credits and/or grants.
ODC’s choice of multi-family residential is one of the strongest reuse options from a market perspective.
However, since this reuse will subdivide the church’s sanctuary, it will not qualify for historic tax credits,
so any potential subsidy for this use will have to come from another source such as CPA.
St. John Cantius Church embodies the heritage of one of Northampton’s and the region’s most
significant ethnic groups, the Polish immigrants who settled in the area in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Architecturally, it is a prominent landmark that defines the character of its location.
My team and I feel the church can and should be saved and reused. We hope that some amount CPA
funding will make that happen.
Sincerely,
Bill Kraus
133 Hamilton Street New Haven, CT 06511
cwkraus1@yahoo.com
C.W. Kraus Preservation & Development – Development Team
Team Leader
Bill Kraus, principal
C.W. Kraus Preservation & Development, New Haven, CT
▪ Over 35 years of experience in commercial real estate development and finance
▪ Over 20 years of experience redeveloping historic buildings in Connecticut
▪ MBA with honors from NYU-Stern School of Business
▪ Read’s-Artspace project was the catalyst for the downtown Bridgeport’s cultural and economic
renaissance generating hundreds of millions of dollars of follow-on development.
Historic Structural Engineer
Beth Acly, principal
Cirrus Structural Engineering, Columbia, CT
▪ Over 20 years of experience in structural engineering
▪ Expertise ranges from historic building restoration to adaptive re-use and renovation of existing
buildings, to analysis and design of new structures
▪ Association for Preservation Technology Registered Professional
Architect
Paolo Campo, associate principal, AIA, NOMA
PATRIQUIN ARCHITECTS, New Haven, CT
▪ 20 years of experience in a broad range of institutional, commercial and residential projects
▪ Yale School of Architecture, James Gable Rogers Fellowship, Anne C.K. Garland Award Recipient
▪ Dedicated to the development of elegant, sustainable design solutions
Construction Cost Estimating
LaRosa Building Group, Meriden, CT
▪ Over 40 years of experience in general contracting with expertise in historic rehabilitation,
multi-family, commercial, industrial, academic, governmental, military, healthcare, religious and
sustainable building
▪ Multi-generational family-owned firm