Zoners Deny Condos Planned For Former School & Convent

The Bristol Borough Zoning Hearing Board denied an application Wednesday evening to convert the empty St. Ann’s school and convent into condominiums.

The application, put forward by Northampton-based BG Holdings Ltd., would have placed 16 condos in the now empty St. Ann’s school, six condos into the empty convent and constructed a 54-spot parking garage. An amendment to the application during the hearing brought the total number of prospective units down to 21 in the interest of saving parking spaces.

Low-rise residential dwellings, according to Bristol Borough ordinance, require two parking spaces for each dwelling, plus half of a parking space for each dwelling in the interest of guests. The application would have retrofitted the current buildings to create the residential units. Structurally, the buildings would have remained the same. Cosmetic changes to make the building feel more residential would have taken place, explained the principle owner of BG Holdings, Vlad Brodsky.

“I believe that with this proposal we are improving the existing area,” Vledesky said. “We want to make sure this refreshes the area to some extent,” he said.

Speaking of the potential customers for the condos, Vledesky commented that the condos would be welcome for all age groups and that millennials purchasing the condos could help to breath life into town.

The biggest concerns for residents in the area related to the parking congestion that more residents would influence.

“I think adding 40-some people to the area is just too much,” said Jay Shoemaker, a resident of Logan Street.

“We don’t have enough parking spaces as it stands now,” said Harford Williams, another resident of Logan Street. Angela O’Brien aired concerns about the potential for accidents with so many cars coming and going on a regular basis.

Bristol Borough solicitor William Salerno was present to represent the worries of Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe II. The concerns were whether the condos were an appropriate use for the space. Salerno also made the assertion that overflow parking is inevitable.

The zoning hearing board denied the application for the space. BG Holdings has the ability to appeal the board’s decision in the coming weeks.

The St. Ann School closed in June 2009 after 89 years in operation, and the convent has been empty since 2014 when the parish closed and the sisters of The Trinitarians left Bristol.

In summer 2017, BH Holdings Ltd. bought the property for $350,000, according to county property records.

At the Wednesday meeting, the Zoning Hearing Board approved an application for a variance to put a family medical practice in the old Croydon Bike Shop location, right off Mill Street.