AMHERST — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has sold its Newman Catholic Center on the grounds of the University of Massachusetts for $12.5 million to the university.
The money will be used to construct a new center on land across the street that the university will ground lease to the diocese for $2.1 million for 99 years, according to a statement on the center’s website.
Until the new center opens, the diocese will lease space in the current building from UMass.
The deal with the University of Massachusetts Building Authority is said to have been negotiated over five years, and to be mutually beneficial.
The three-story, 58,000-square-foot building includes a chapel, banquet hall, library and classrooms and was built in 1963, the year of the university’s centennial when enrollment was starting to expand along with residential construction.
Its location at 472 North Pleasant Street, where its neighbors include the Isenberg School of Management, is today considered a southeastern gateway to the campus.
UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski is quoted on the website as referring to the center’s location as one of “significant long-term strategic importance to the campus.”
The Rev. Gary Dailey, who has served as director of the center for the diocese, called construction of a new center “an exciting new opportunity for our campus ministry, which has seen growth in recent years” and one that “ensures our presence on the UMass campus for many years to come.”
The announcement by Archbishop-designate Mitchell Rozanski of St. Louis, who has served as Springfield bishop since 2014 until his recent appointment in St. Louis where he will be installed Aug. 25, expressed gratitude for the completion of the transaction.
“I am most grateful to the countless diocesan and university officials, along with Father Gary Dailey and his staff, who have all worked so diligently to bring this complex transaction to completion,” Rozanski’s statement said in part.
“I am especially grateful to Colebrook Realty for their efforts on behalf of the diocese, guiding and advising us throughout the years of negotiations. I am happy we were able to bring this exciting endeavor to fruition as one of my final official acts, one which will be a blessing to our diocesan church for generations to come.”
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August 24, 2020 at 05:41PM
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Springfield Diocese sells Newman Center to UMass for $12.5M - masslive.com
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