LYNN — The city is drafting a letter to the Archdiocese of Boston requesting a delay in the sale of St. Mary of the Sacred Heart Parish’s convent building to the Chelsea’s House, a women’s sober home.
At a meeting Tuesday night, City Council President Jay Walsh motioned to order the city’s Law Department to reach out to the Archdiocese, requesting a public hearing with City Council members to “discuss future plans with the property at Sacred Heart Church.”
The motion, which the council unanimously approved, dictates that the letter request that any pending sale to a potential sober house be “delayed and postponed” until “neighborhood and parental issues relating to students at the elementary school located on the site are discussed and addressed.”
Last month, the church announced its plans to sell the convent to Chelsea’s House — a decision that was met with backlash from the community because of the convent’s close proximity to the Sacred Heart Elementary School.
“I’m disappointed at how it was handled. From what I understand there was no communication to anyone,” an unnamed Sacred Heart Parishioner said. “When you have a piece of property that goes up for sale in close proximity to a school and it’s an RFP, there are proposals that have been put forward. What were your other proposals? How did you come to the decision that a sober living facility was the right choice to a school, knowing that there had to be backlash?”
The sale, Walsh said, came as a surprise to parents, parishioners, and West Lynn residents who said they were not informed of the decision.
“People are voicing concerns and there’s no answers,” Walsh said. “They said they’re working very close, and they’re not. They’re not answering the questions and they’re trying to force this sale even faster so that they don’t have to answer to it. It’s not fair to the community.”
Monday night, Sacred Heart held a meeting for parents and teachers only to discuss the sale.
Chris Willis, the father of a fourth-grade Sacred Heart student, said that parents were left in the dark until the sale was underway in January.
“This was definitely under the rug. They had to know what they were doing. That’s the reason they have all these meetings, don’t say anything, and then tell everybody after the fact, when it’s too late.” Willis said. “I’m not opposed to the business, I’m opposed to the location of the business.”
Secretary of Communications for the Archdiocese of Boston Donlion Terrence said in a written statement last month that Chelsea’s House would be in close communication with parents.
“The buyer is in conversation with the school seeking to address their concerns while not losing sight of the goals and objectives and the need to serve people in need regardless of their station in life,” Terrence said.
Walsh said that his constituents have heard little to nothing from the Archdiocese or Chelsea’s House regarding the sale. He added that while he understands the city’s need for sober living facilities, he does not think that it’s appropriate to put one close to an elementary school.
“I recognize it’s a private piece of property, but when it’s a community church organization, it’s supposed to be welcoming everybody into it. For them to decide not to welcome anyone’s input into this — that’s not fair,” Walsh said. “ There’s people with children that are five years old who are going to be 10 feet away from this. I recognize the need for these places to try to help people, but there’s got to be an honest discussion to let people know about this.”
As of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, no records of the sale could be located at the Essex County Registry of Deeds.
