nemetz - St. John Cantius.pdf8/22/22, 6:05 PM City of Northampton Mail - St. John Cantius
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=fec0f72d97&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1741896717985396282%7Cmsg-f%3A17418967179853…1/2
Sarah LaValley <slavalley@northamptonma.gov>
St. John Cantius
1 message
Dorothy Nemetz <djnemetz@aol.com>Mon, Aug 22, 2022 at 5:02 PM
Reply-To: Dorothy Nemetz <djnemetz@aol.com>
To: "slavalley@northamptonma.gov" <slavalley@northamptonma.gov>
Dear Sarah and the CPC Committee,
I find myself on the opposite side of many in my community in writing to urge you not to
commit CPA funds to preserve the exterior of St. John Cantius Church. I may be wrong,
but I can't recall another instance of CPA funding to a private developer to preserve a
historical structure that does not serve a broad public purpose. I do recall that the
Coolidge Condominium Association was turned down for funds to preserve the old jail
stairs, I assume because it was not a public space.
I have some familiarity with St. John Cantius because I am on the board of the
Northampton Community Arts Trust and, years ago, we explored purchasing the
property (we never heard back from the diocese). I also had a couple of conversations
with Bill Kraus, who consulted with the group working to save St. John Cantius. My
experience leads me to believe there is no cost effective way to transform the church
into a space that would serve the public good. It has been sitting in a state of disuse for
well over a decade; the Catholic community took no action to save it and, as far as I
know, no one has been able to come up with a financially feasible plan for its reuse.
I fear that if CPA funds are committed to preserving the exterior, which will then mean
that the church can never be removed, it will simply sit empty for more decades - a
historic facade serving no purpose whatsoever. As a member of the Arts Trust board, I
have worked for years to help sustain the vibrancy and vitality of downtown
Northampton. Northampton benefits from having more people live downtown, so I would
rather see more housing - at any price point - on the St. John Cantius lot than an empty
church.
At the least, I urge you not to commit public funds to St. John Cantius unless or until
O'Connell Development Group has presented a financially viable plan to repurpose the
building in a way that meaningfully benefits the City.
Thank you for your consideration.
- Dorothy Nemetz
Dorothy Nemetz
8/22/22, 6:05 PM City of Northampton Mail - St. John Cantius
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ik=fec0f72d97&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f%3A1741896717985396282%7Cmsg-f%3A17418967179853…2/2
413-320-3948