Frequently Asked Questions about

St. Paul’s Purchase of the

Kensington Grammar School Property

Why is St. Paul Church purchasing the Kensington Grammar School Property?

• We are purchasing this property to protect our parish and the neighborhood from any future development, and to remove an eyesore and potential safety hazard. We saw how far developers would go when they tried to put eight three-story buildings on that property of just over 2 acres. This type of development would have changed the nature of our neighborhood, and would have been very detrimental, our parish and school.

• Most of all, we are purchasing this property to give generations to come the chance to maintain, expand, grow, and dream about the future of St. Paul Church & School. This property is an asset that will provide viable options to address our future needs and allow the parish to realize their dreams. Maybe the KGS property will someday be the site of a new Parish Center. Maybe those who follow us will want to expand our school with an Early Child Development Center. The 1.9 acres of the KGS property will give the parish more than enough land for parking. It will also give our parish a myriad of possibilities. Without this purchase, those who follow us will have few, if any, options or possibilities for expanding or enhancing our facilities.

How are we going to pay for the property?

• We will pay for the property with $400,000 from our savings and a 5-year bridge loan for $200,000 from the Knights of Columbus. The monthly payments will be around $3,000.

I heard that St. Paul Church was offered the property for next to nothing many years ago. Is that true?

• While we cannot find any Pastoral Council Minutes to tell us the complete story, I have been told that the Town of Berlin offered us the building and land for a nominal fee many many years ago. At that time, the Church had no reserve funds or savings to abate or take down the building. No one had done any environmental studies and there were lots of unknowns. The cost to abate the building was substantially more than it is now. When this matter was brought up to the Pastoral Council, because of the lack of reserves and the environmental contamination unknowns, the plan to purchase the property was defeated by one vote.

Now that we have the property, what will we do with it?

• The first thing we will do is work with our insurance company to make sure that the property is safe by restricting any access to the building. Then we will continue using the property as we always have. We will conduct a parish-wide fund drive to pay for the abatement, demolition and revitalization of this property.

Why not rehabilitate the building?

• Sadly, for many, many years, the building has been left to deteriorate. The roof leaks, there is mold and water damage everywhere because of the leaks. There is no electrical service, pipes have burst and there is no working plumbing. The oil tanks have been removed, and as a result, there is no way to heat the building. In addition to the necessary abatement expenses, we have been told that the cost to rehabilitate the building would be over five million dollars. These are some of the reasons why the property was never developed, and why we can’t even think of rehabilitating the building.

How were decisions made and why did we decide to purchase the Kensington Grammar School Property?

• When we heard about the Metro Realty development of the property, we formed the “Parking Committee” to find a way to replace the parking we were going to lose. This committee met for over a year and carefully considered all options. These options included the expansion of our current parking lot with the purchase of some of the houses and land to our north. They also considered expanding parking on Grove Hill in front of the school, and the purchase of the KGS property.

• When the town Planning & Zoning meetings came up, the Parking Committee helped organize and get the word out regarding the development, and then coordinated the parish response at these public hearings.

• Finally, the Parking Committee presented all of the options to the leadership of the parish including the Pastoral Council, the Finance Committee, Church Staff, Parish Trustees and the School Board. At that meeting, the consent was almost unanimous. All but one person felt the purchase of the KGS property was the best option available, and in the best interest of the parish. A second meeting was held with the Parking Committee, Pastoral Council, the Finance Committee, and the Parish Trustees, and, after a spirited discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the parish should purchase the KGS property. At this meeting the parish leadership also established the maximum price they would be willing to pay for KGS.

Why is buying the KGS property so important for St. Paul Church?

• Everyone knows that we have outgrown our current campus. That is why we have been using the KGS property without permission for so many years--we had no other place to go! This may be our last real chance to expand our campus to satisfy our current needs, look to the future, and protect our neighborhood. If we don’t seize this opportunity now, we may never have another chance. Should we continue to grow (last year we welcomed 151 new households ), we would have no place to welcome and accommodate those who join us. We believe that our decision to purchase the KGS property is an investment in our future, and a vote of confidence in our parish and in its future.