NEW BRITAIN —

By ROBERT STORACE
STAFF WRITER March 2011

NEW BRITAIN — City officials are hoping to turn an eyesore into an economic development opportunity.

Mayor Timothy T. Stewart recently announced that the city will begin soliciting bids to purchase 74 Kelsey St., the former site of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School.

The mayor was not available for comment Monday, but in a press release said, “This is an extremely valuable piece of property that can be converted to a number of uses, including housing. We have already received a great deal of interest in the property and I expect to see some very creative proposals made by potential developers.”

The lot is 2.2 acres with two buildings that formerly housed the school and an adjacent convent. City leaders said the last graduating class from the high school was about 2000.

The city purchased the property in October 2010 after the owners fell behind on property tax payments. The building has been placed on the city’s blight list.

Pete Steele, coordinate for the city’s blight committee, said Monday there are about 10 properties in the city that have deteriorated to the point similar to the former high school has. He said the number of buildings on the blight list varies each year.

“We [blight committee] only deal with properties when the normal inspection process can’t solve the problem,” Steele said. He said the city has cleared up the outside of the property, on the city’s east end, and has secured the building. In recent years, Steele, said, there were two fires on the premises and there was a problem of people going inside the building.

In his statement, the mayor said the property’s location, a short distance from the city’s central business district, makes it desirable to potential buyers.

“This is another step in my continuing efforts to return government-owned properties to the property tax rolls,” the mayor said.

City leaders of both parties said they are optimistic about developing the site.

Republican Aldrman Mark Bernacki said, “This is another effort to bring private developers and private investment into the community, and hopefully to get the property on the tax rolls.”

A graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas in the 1980s, Democratic Alderman Roy Centeno said Monday, “The neighborhood, through the grapevine, has been waiting for something to happen to that building for a long time. It’s a wonderful thing.”

The city will make the property available for inspection March 31 at 10 a.m. For more information, call Denis Pelegrino, facilities superintendent, at (860) 826-3415.