By Amanda McGregor
STAFF WRITER
—
SALEM — The city's homeless shelter appears to have abandoned its plans to convert the former St. Mary's Italian Church into 20 studio apartments for the homeless.
Instead, the building will remain for sale, and the shelter will consider alternate sites for housing, according to Mark Cote, executive director of Lifebridge, formerly known as the Salem Mission.
That is welcome news to a group of residents raising money to buy the former church and develop it into a Salem Community Arts Center, for which the nonprofit group is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow night at Old Town Hall in downtown Salem.
"Everybody is deeply encouraged," said Chris Gilbert, a member of the volunteer SCAC steering committee. "It will be a wonderful thing for the city if we can pull this off."
The shelter had announced plans in May 2009 to convert the former church into apartments. Last February, however, the agency did not receive state funding for the project and subsequently made the surprise announcement that it would put the church up for sale.
At the time, Lifebridge officials said the agency would reapply for the next cycle of state funding — now a month away — but it now has no plans to do so, Cote said.
In the meantime, the 1925 church building on Margin Street will remain for sale, and shelter officials will work on a broader plan for where to develop housing on its campus in the future, Cote said.
"Our preference at this point would be to work either with this (SCAC) group or neighbors, and come up with a situation everybody is happy with," Cote said. "That means if we can help folks preserve (the church building) for the community and whatever they have in mind, I think we've all come to the realization this might be something we need to discuss further."
Cote said Lifebridge has not fielded any serious offers on the church building, which is on the market for $575,000.
"We had thought about taking it off the market at the end of the summer," Cote said, "but we're just going to leave it on and see if we can attract attention to it."
Meanwhile, the arts center group has a steering committee of 25 people that meets weekly. As of July, the group had raised more than $62,000.
The group is seizing on the shelter's recent announcement and undertaking a major fundraising push, including the event tomorrow, called "Cannoli & Chianti in Concert," which will feature a lineup of musical performances and fundraising pitches.
"Keeping it on the market does certainly open up a window of opportunity," Gilbert said. "It's a fairly urgent push because the window of opportunity could close if another buyer came along."
The group envisions that St. Mary's Italian Church will become a North Shore community center for arts and performance, and also provide event space for meetings, lectures and functions.
"It really is very fulfilling," said Gilbert, a documentary filmmaker who lives in Beverly. "It's sort of a citizens' movement to restore something that could otherwise be lost and improve the quality of life for people in Salem."
In 2004, the Salem Mission paid $2 million for the St. Mary's property, which had been closed by the Archdiocese of Boston. The purchase included the church, the youth center and two small apartment buildings. At the time, the church was estimated to represent about $550,000 of that deal.
One possibility for housing is to put an addition above the Margin Street shelter, the former St. Mary's Youth Center.
"We have made no decision organizationally on our next step for a new application to the state," Cote said. "If we do apply to the state for housing, it may be to put more units on top of the mission center — to build a floor on top of the building. ... We really need to sit and discuss a long-term plan."
Today, the church building goes largely unused other than the thrift store Lifebridge operates.
It costs the agency approximately $12,000 a year to maintain the building, depending on heating costs and other factors, Cote said.
"The legacy of the Italian community was in danger of being lost completely with the loss of the church," Gilbert said, referring to the city's immigrant community that built the church. "When you go inside that place, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of it. We're inviting everybody to step up and be like that community to make Salem a better place."
Cannoli & Chianti in Concert
What: Fundraiser to purchase St. Mary's Italian Church for a Salem Community Arts Center
Where: Old Town Hall, Salem
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Cost: $15
Music: Folk singer Julie Dougherty; opera from Beverly Soll and Jennifer Sgroe; violin by 11-year-old Susanna Monroe accompanied by dad Michael, a Gordon College music professor, on piano; and electronic and sound art of Jim Forrest
Refreshments: Pastries are being provided by Coven Bakery, Caffe Graziani, Coffee Time Bake Shop and Caffe Italia of Marblehead. Pamplemousse will provide a cash bar for wine and soft drinks.
More information: Call 978-902-7582 or 917-599-8843, or visit www.salemcommunityartscenter.com.
