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Snoo-35041 t1_j4865ca wrote

Reply to comment by ChaosAndMath in St. Joseph's Church in Bloomfield could close in the near future by Elouiseotter

Why renovate the old building, when MAC is ADA, has air conditioning, and is in better shape?

Because it does t look “church-y” enough for some people.

The diocese closed St. Bart’s in Penn Hills because it needed too much repair, but on the webpage for its sale, the Diocese touts how good of condition it is all in. The tangled web of lies, where the truth is unknown. Don’t trust the Diocese PR people for the truth.

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ChaosAndMath t1_j488j7x wrote

The MAC has a school attached to it, and the boiler for the church is in the school so they can't just sell off the school. Instead they have to maintain a lot more space at the MAC than they would at St. Joseph's. I watched the priest's hour long presentation this week on it, and he said the cost of renovations to both buildings were comparable (but I suspect they thought they could get more money for the MAC due to it's size and location)

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Snoo-35041 t1_j48clka wrote

I just don’t trust them. They had a priest at st. Barts who’s now a bishop, fleece old people for statues and more statues instead of fixing the property, which the diocese then said, oh it’s in such disrepair. But the $10,000’s in statues were ok instead. Those old people thought they were donating to something g that would comfort people for the ages, and they were just fleeced.

A separate boiler would still cost less than the “renovations” of the old building.

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tesla3by3 t1_j48gox3 wrote

Curious why you think the Mac is worth more? The lot sizes are comparable, but St Joe's is on the main drag. I think for most uses, both sites would need to be demolished. St Joe's could maybe saved with the right buyer (ala Churchberw).

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ChaosAndMath t1_j48patu wrote

I thought the lot would be bigger for the MAC since it includes the school, the rectory, and the parking lot, but St. Joseph sold the parking lot behind it years ago and is just the church itself.

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ongoingbox t1_j4f24dl wrote

There was an interesting presentation (virtual) by Preservation Pennsylvania about the MAC's architecture last weekend. Hope they can reuse the building (fix the roof, etc.) no matter the fate of it.

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