'Open space and a park.' Unused Catholic chapel in Dennis on town meeting docket
The sale and demolition of an older, unused church building in Dennis Port is expected to offer the town more space for a park, a town official has said.
The current owner, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, expects the proceeds from the sale of the building — if approved by town voters in late February — to benefit the parish, according to John Kearns, Diocese Director of Communications.
Dennis will hold a special town meeting Feb. 29 seeking voter support for purchasing the site of what was a seasonal church, Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel, and the parking lot.
The property at the corner of Upper County Road and Depot Street is a 13,000 square-feet, single-story building on a 3.6-acre parcel. The church, built in 1953, served as a seasonal mission church of Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich until the COVID-19 pandemic, when the parish discontinued its use, according to the diocese records.
“I think it’s a good purchase,” Dennis Select Board Vice Chair Paul McCormick said. “It will give us open space and a park. It will help Dennis Port breathe a lot better.”
The Select Board knew the church property was going up for sale after the pandemic at an original price of $2.6 million, McCormick said. The board reached out last year to the Diocese of Fall River, which indicated it was willing to sell to the town and a price of $2.3 million was negotiated. The Select Board thought that amount was fair for that size property, he said.
The town will not borrow money to purchase the property, but is using a portion of the town’s free cash, which are the remaining unrestricted funds from the town operations of the previous fiscal year. Town meeting approval is required before free cash can be put to a particular use.
To benefit the parish, ministries and programs
The Diocese of Fall River includes all of Cape Cod and the Islands, Bristol County and parts of Plymouth County. There are about 265,000 people who worship in 70 parishes and 12 mission churches, according to the diocese website.
Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha has agreed to the purchase price of $2.3 million based on an independent real estate appraisal arranged by the town, according to the town’s explanation of the special meeting. Holy Trinity Parish will receive the proceeds from the sale of the property to use at its discretion for the good of the parish and the benefit of its ministries and programs, according to Kearns.
The town website states the reason for the special meeting prior to the annual town meeting in May is because the purchase closing date is April 1.
Demolition of church building planned
Two additional articles are on the warrant related to the property purchase. One is the demolition of the church building. McCormick estimated it may be around $150,000, which would come from available funds. Another article will ask the voters to approve money for design work for the park on the property. The cost is not specified on the warrant.
Two unrelated items on the special town meeting warrant are for town department fee changes.
When is the special town meeting?
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Dennis-Yarmouth Intermediate School at 286 Station Ave. in South Yarmouth. The annual town meeting will still be held in May. All registered voters may vote at the special town meeting, but they must have registered by Feb. 16. Nonvoters may attend the meeting but cannot vote.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Town voters in Dennis may agree to buy, raze unused church for park
