Developer looks to turn former church into apartments

Matthew Knox, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Oct. 4—SUFFIELD — A developer is proposing to turn the former St. Joseph Church on South Main Street into apartments.

James McMahon, who is from Guilford, gave a preliminary presentation on his idea to the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday night, and received positive feedback.

"I think this is a great use of a beautiful building in town," PZC member Tracy Hespelt said.

PZC member Jeff Girard agreed and said, "This is exactly what the town needs."

McMahon, who owns the church property, said the building would be transformed into 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments, two of which would meet the criteria for affordable housing.

John Cruet, an architect from LRC Group, accompanied McMahon. He said all three levels of the building would be used in the project.

If approved, the basement level floor, currently a parish hall with a stage, would be turned into four apartments. The main chapel and sanctuary on the ground floor would be turned into six apartments that would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lastly, the mezzanine balcony would be expanded to hold six more apartments. There's a possibility those apartments would have two levels and cathedral ceilings, but that's only a concept at the moment, Cruet said.

The apartments would range in size from about 650 square feet to 950 square feet, Cruet said.

While many interior alterations are required, the plan is to preserve as much of the exterior as possible, including the bell tower, Cruet said.

The footprint of the building would not change, but new windows would be needed. The existing stained glass windows would be replaced with operable windows of the same shape, Cruet said.

McMahon also purchased the property next door, containing the church parking lot, rectory, and convent. He said the goal is to have tenants use the existing parking lot, to avoid having to pave more of the grounds. The other buildings also could become home to new apartments, but McMahon said he doesn't want to change the layout of the property.

The apartments would be called Memorial Estates, McMahon said. A statue of St. Joseph, which stands in front of the church, would be replaced by two memorials honoring two local men killed while serving in the U.S. armed forces. One memorial would be for Marine Cpl. Stephen Bixler, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, and the other for Navy Sailor Dustin Doyon, who died in 2017 in an accident aboard the USS John S. McCain destroyer.

The memorial would include benches for people to sit and reflect, and a flag pole that stands closer to the church would be moved near the memorial, according to McMahon.

McMahon said he was driving through the area while looking for apartments for his son when he saw the church for sale. He was interested, and was lucky to be able to purchase the property, he said.

St. Joseph was one of several Catholic churches in north-central Connecticut that stopped hosting Mass in 2017 after a reorganization of parishes by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.

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