LETTER TO CPA COMMITTEE MEMBERS & CHAIR IN OPPOSITION TO O_CONNELL DEVELOPERS GRANT APPLICATION fEVELOPERS CPA GRANT APPICATION PROP.pdf8/22/22, 11:22 AM City of Northampton Mail - LETTER TO CPA COMMITTEE MEMBERS & CHAIR IN OPPOSITION TO O"CONNELL DEVELOPE…
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Sarah LaValley <slavalley@northamptonma.gov>
LETTER TO CPA COMMITTEE MEMBERS & CHAIR IN OPPOSITION TO O"CONNELL
DEVELOPERS GRANT APPLICATION fEVELOPERS CPA GRANT APPICATION PROP
1 message
Brigid Glackin <bkglackinmd@gmail.com>Sun, Aug 21, 2022 at 9:05 PM
To: slavalley@northamptonma.gov
Please forward this letter to the members and chair of CPA COMMITTEE prior to VOTE AUGUST 24 .
Dear CPA Committee Members and Chairman Adams ,,
First thank you for your many hours of volunteer effort to improve our community where I have been a resident since 1978
.
I have supported without reservation the goals of the CPA program to improve our community by financing affordable
housing , open space preservation and outdoor recreation or historic preservation.
I have followed the process of the O’Connell development of the former Catholic Diocese property associated with St
John Cantius Church closely ,including its multiple interactions with the CPA Committee ,since Fall.2021.
As we know the Diocese ceased in 2010 to use the church ,along with 3 others built in the 19th century, all also
architecturally significant ,and precious to immigrants and the whole community.. These included Blessed Sacrament on
Elm Street (built 1899) where I was married in 1978 and St Marys.(1875) where I've attended weddings ,funerals
,concerts and community events .
The O'Connell developer CPA applicant knew or should have known when they bought the St John Cantius Church (built
1907) of the historical significance and importance to the community of the church. Since purchase,they have
demolished the other church community buildings and undertaken the building of 23 condominiums. These new housing
units are in the only category of housing for their new community where there is no housing shortage.That category at
$450/sq foot is variously called high end or luxury or "market rate" by the developer.Others might call it feeding a
inflationary housing bubble and promoting gentrification of a mixed income housing neighborhood.
.The overwhelming majority of applicants for CPA grants are nonprofits and the financial details of their organizations
and projects are by statute a matter of public record ,
By way of contrast,O'Connells assertions to the Committee regarding their project's "financial feasibility " and "market
forces" are unverifiable by the committee and the supporting information is considered to be proprietary .
During the long course of their applications to the city since 2018, The O'Connells have promised and then abandoned
their plan to preserve the church as a restaurant or entertainment center ,due to "market forces.".Meanwhile we see
others undertake and succeed with these types of ventures downtown.
The applicant has alternatively threatened to demolish the historically significant building unless their current plans are
accepted ,but then reduced their grant fund request from the original $1million to now $500k .
The applicant has rejected the City's offer of 40% of their original investment to buy the church, claiming that a resiliency
hub would be "out of keeping with the character of the Philips Place" neighborhood they have just joined and where their
condominiums closest neighbor is the back lot and garage of the post office.
Now they have proposed to the city that they will "restore" the exterior of the historic church for the subsidizing taxpayer
to enjoy from a distance. This "restoration' might be called catching up on delayed maintenance (and CPA funds cannot
be used for maintenance)
They have asserted that "high costs and supply chain problems" may necessitate replacing the church's red tile roof with
red shingles ..
The already built condominiums so surround and dwarf the church's exterior that it is very difficult to take a current
photograph to illustrate the fine architecture . .
In the meantime ,Blessed Sacrament Church has been bought recently from the Diocese and the new owners are
repairing the effects of the neglected maintenance at their own expense .
I remain hopeful that the Committee will remain true to the spirit of the CPA and not the parsed ,contorted letter of it
.There are many other pressing needs in the community .
The Valley CDC has only received in the same grant cycle $600k to create 124 units of affordable housing on Bridge
Road ,The Northampton Housing Trust remains unfunded. The Planning Department and the mayor have stated there are
insufficient resources available to fund outdoor recreation in the form of developing swimming areas now ,but also for
summer,2023 .
I believe approving this grant will produce unintended consequences inconsistent with the CPA's core mission . I also
believe it will set a precedent with an incorrect template for evaluating CPA grant applications from for profit organizations
in future.
Respectfully,
Brigid Glackin
8/22/22, 11:22 AM City of Northampton Mail - LETTER TO CPA COMMITTEE MEMBERS & CHAIR IN OPPOSITION TO O"CONNELL DEVELOPE…
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