Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Bristol Township’s Croydon section is seeking grant funding to take down their former school building.
A late December note to parishioners that was provided to LevittownNow.com by a churchgoer revealed the catholic parish that sits along Route 13 was attempting to secure grant funds to demolish the former school on Walnut Avenue.
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“If we are successful, the property will then be sold to a real estate developer. Although this will probably not generate much money for the parish, it will save the parish tens of thousands of dollars in maintenance costs each year,” Father David A. Fernandes wrote.
A spokesperson for the church said the parish has a plan that may take several years to become reality.
The parish has been working to sell the building for some time.
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Representatives from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church have met with the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County (RDA) to discuss adaptive reuse or redevelopment of the site, RDA Executive Director Jeff Darwak confirmed.
“It’s a challenging site because the building seems to have outlived its usefulness as a school/institutional use. Lack of parking also seems to be a major obstacle. Redevelopment or reuse of the site may not be viable without some form of public-private partnership,” he added.
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Darwak said the RDA is also helping seeking funding for the demolition of the vacant building and will seek a use for it that is beneficial for the community.
According to the church’s recent data, about 15 percent of registered parishioners attend weekly Mass, and the parish ran a deficit of $51,939 in the fiscal year that ended in June of last year.
The St. Thomas Aquinas School closed in 2011 due to declining enrolment. The parish opened in 1922 in Croydon.
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In 2014, the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Bensalem merged with St. Thomas Aquinas.
The parish is in the process of selling the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton property on Park Avenue in Bensalem to another Catholic-connected organization, according to Archdiocese of Philadelphia spokesperson Ken Gavin.
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