Two former CT Catholic schools headed for foreclosure. Six years, two owners later idle and decaying

The 2 deteriorating sites are some connected the radar of municipal officials.

The 2 casualties of declining Catholic schoolhouse enrollment successful Hartford — St. Peter’s adjacent downtown and St. Augustine successful Barry Square — had turned into signs of anticipation for vicinity revitalization erstwhile they were purchased by the aforesaid purchaser for flat conversions successful 2018.

Nearly six years and 2 owners later, the campuses inactive beryllium idle and deteriorating and the absentee proprietor of some properties is facing foreclosure and plans for flat conversions person been sidelined.

St. Peter’s School — on with its 157-old religion facing Main Street and a erstwhile convent — is headed to a foreclosure merchantability Aug. 2, tribunal records show.

And St. Augustine School — shuttered successful 2016, the past Catholic schoolhouse to adjacent successful Hartford — soon could beryllium taken implicit by the metropolis successful a foreclosure for unpaid blight fines and spot taxes. amounting to astir $1 million. If successful, the metropolis hopes to find a developer for an flat conversion for the Clifford Street property.

Part of the $1 cardinal tab are charges by the metropolis for periodic maintenance, metropolis officials said.

After St. Augustine School closed successful 2016, 2 consequent owners person failed to person the gathering successful Hartford's Barry Square into apartments. (Kenneth R. Gosselin/Hartford Courant)

The metropolis has boarded up windows successful an effort to support retired intruders; chopped down overgrown plants and stopped amerciable dumping — stepping successful wherever the spot owner, Shmuel Aizenberg, a arguable flat proprietor successful New Haven, has not, according to the city.

Hyacinth Yennie, seat of the Maple Avenue Neighborhood Revitalization Group, a vicinity revitalization portion group, said the 2 owners of St. Augustine started retired with plans for flat conversion, but they did not travel through. The city’s stop-gap attraction efforts person helped, Yennie said, but the vicinity is frustrated due to the fact that lodging is desperately needed.

“In the meantime, we, arsenic residents, person to beryllium and ticker that spot conscionable proceed to autumn isolated and go a cause haven and a prostitution haven, for everything that you speech astir that’s atrocious successful our neighborhood,” Yennie, a longtime vicinity activistic said.

Michael D. Perez, the city’s manager of blight remediation, said some schoolhouse properties person been connected the city’s radar for astatine slightest 3 years due to the fact that they were vacant, and the redevelopment of St. Augustine is the apical precedence for the neighborhood.

“Of the buildings that they privation to spot renovated, this is 1 they privation sooner alternatively than later,” Perez said. “And so, we recognize that. Every time, I spot the mayor, helium asks me, ‘So what’s the presumption of that property?’ ”

Perez said it is apt the metropolis could instrumentality power of St. Augustine successful the adjacent period oregon two.

‘Affinity for the property’

The 3 buildings connected the St. Peter’s spot — crossed from Barnard Park and besides known arsenic South Green — are being foreclosed connected by the lender that financed Aizenberg’s purchase, Lending Assets LLC of New York. According to tribunal documents, Lending Assets alleges Aizenberg and the concern that purchased the spot owes astir $1 million.

St. Peter's School facing Main Street adjacent downtown Hartford is headed to a foreclosure merchantability on with a religion and convent connected the property. The existent proprietor had planned to person the schoolhouse to apartments. (Kenneth R. Gosselin/Hartford Courant)

Lending Assets did not person an contiguous comment, but Perez said the lender has told the metropolis it would instrumentality assertive steps to foreclose and marketplace the property.

“Or they, themselves, would effort to get the spot and make it,” Perez said. “The lender indicated an affinity for the spot and a content that the existent lender that is foreclosing could crook the spot astir and make it.”

The metropolis besides capped its liens astatine $60,000 due to the fact that the lender demonstrated that it wanted to determination up aggressively, Perez said.

The vacant brownstone religion with its soaring doorbell operation — closed successful 2017 — and schoolhouse successful the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood — though successful amended information than St. Augustine, metropolis officials accidental — has nevertheless presented a situation for the surrounding neighborhood. The contiguous country has seen immoderate occurrence successful the improvement of the apartments astatine Park and Main streets, and determination is an ongoing propulsion to upgrade the usage for Barnard Park.

Chris McArdle, president of CSS/CON, the neighborhood’s revitalization zone, said determination has been a noticeable diminution successful cause dealing astatine South Green, pursuing enforcement efforts by the police. But the looming beingness of the vacant religion spot — peculiarly the religion itself — is apt to stay a origin successful the area’s aboriginal development, McArdle said.

Patrick Raycraft/Hartford Courant

The vacant St. Peter's Church connected Main Street successful Hartford and its school, astatine left, shown successful a record photograph from 2020.

“It is simply a precise ample property, and it’s close determination connected the green,” McArdle said. “Obviously, the religion is going to beryllium a large concern.”

Perez said helium believes determination could beryllium options for redevelopment of the church, accidental arsenic a performance hall, with lodging down it successful the erstwhile school.

“With a small creativity, thing truly chill could hap with that property.” Perez said. “It depends connected who ends up with it and what imaginativeness they bring to the table.”

A telephone seeking remark from Kenneth M. Rozich, a New Haven lawyer representing Aizenberg and his partners successful the St. Augustine and St. Peter’s foreclosures, was not returned.

Expanding into Hartford

Aizenberg, a main successful New Haven-based Ocean Management, purchased St. Peter’s — including the religion and convent — and St. Augustine for $3.75 cardinal successful 2021. The seller was Joseph Novoseller, managing main of New Jersey-based Aria Legacy Group. The merchantability was accompanied by anterior metropolis approvals to make apartments connected some properties.

Aizenberg started expanding into Hartford successful 2021, targeting rental properties oregon those that could beryllium converted to apartments. The properties were purchased successful constricted liability companies.

Aizenberg and Ocean Management already had hundreds of rentals successful New Haven. But Aizenberg turned arguable successful caller years successful New Haven, according to reporting by the New Haven Independent, erstwhile alleged codification violations brought him into lodging court. Those violations besides gave emergence to protests and the forming of tenant unions astatine immoderate of Aizenberg’s buildings, The Independent reported.

The Independent besides reported that Aizenberg was selling disconnected immoderate of his New Haven flat buildings.

MICHAEL McANDREWS, Hartford Courant

The Grand connected Ann apartments stands astatine the country of Ann Uccello and Allyn streets. (Courant File Photo)

In Hartford, Aizenberg purchased 2 downtown buildings successful 2021, one, the “Grand connected Ann” apartments, which Aizenberg sold past year.

A 2nd gathering was a 4-story gathering astatine 275 Asylum St. — agelong the determination of the Morse School of Business and, much recently, the High School Inc. programme of the Hartford Public Schools. Aizenberg besides listed that spot for sale, but metropolis records amusement helium inactive owns it. At the clip of the acquisition successful 2021, Aizenberg’s typical said the plans were to person 275 Asylum into apartments.

In summation to the 2 religion properties bought successful 2021, Aizenberg purchased 5 flat buildings connected Huntington Street, containing 68 units, that aforesaid year. The properties besides are successful foreclosure and a receiver has been appointed by the courts, according to tribunal documents, a determination typically utilized to usher day-to-day operations until determination is an eventual sale.

Kenneth R. Gosselin tin beryllium reached astatine kgosselin@courant.com.