St. Anne School building sold; parish erects tribute

By Bill Doyle
CFP Correspondent

Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster sold the former St. Anne Elementary School for $550,000 last month and the building will be converted into rental apartments, according to Ray Guerin, parish finance administrator.
“I’m happy that the building that has been used for such a great purpose in the past will continue to be utilized for an extremely meaningful purpose, namely, to provide housing for people,” said Father Adam Reid, pastor of Sacred Heart.
The school, located at 12 Day St., closed in 2016 after merging with St. Louis Elementary School to form All Saints Academy. St. Anne School opened in 1885 and moved across the street to its current location in 1913.
Real estate developer Jitender Behl of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, purchased the building in early April.
Mr. Behl said his company, Clearview Inc., plans to spend about $4 million to build 22 to 24 two-bedroom units in the former school. He expects the units to be ready for occupation within a year.
Mr. Behl said he’ll build whatever kind of apartments the town needs, affordable or luxury.
“It’s beautiful and it is a very well-kept building,” he said. “You could see that there was passion involved, respect involved. Everything is so perfect.”
Mr. Behl said he negotiated with the parish for nearly a year before finalizing the sale.
“This building is very clean,” he said. “I love the town and the people are so nice, and I see a lot of potential. I would like to bring this building to the level where I am not a liability, I am an asset to this society. I’ll make an exemplary, beautiful building.”
Mr. Behl said he and his four partners are building more than 100 apartments in Rhode Island, including converting at least five other schools into apartments.
Mr. Behl said he opened a video store in East Greenwich in 1976 and he introduced VHS cassettes and DVDs to Rhode Island. The video store has closed, but he said he still has at least 30,000 DVDs stored in a warehouse and for sentimental reasons he has no plans to sell them.
In addition to developing real estate, Mr. Behl has owned hotels, gas stations and restaurants.
The new owner received $750,000 in financing for the project from Melissa Janikies of the Jan Companies of Cranston, Rhode Island.
“She has a lot of trust in me,” Mr. Behl said. “If I need $5 million in two hours, I can get it. I have that kind of relationship.”
Father Reid said the funds from the sale will pay off debts incurred over the past couple of years and will also pay for the attorney and real estate broker fees involved in the sale.
The remaining funds from the sale will be banked as savings for the parish.
The former St. Anne School lacks sufficient parking so the parish will lease to the buyer spaces outside the parish hall and gymnasium located directly across the street.
“Without the parking, this project was impossible,” Mr. Behl said.
In return, the new owner will pay to expand the number of parking spaces from eight to 24 at the parish’s Emmaus Ministry Center on the corner of Day and East Main streets.
After the 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, April 30, Father Reid oversaw a dedication ceremony outside the church for a tribute area in honor of St. Anne School and the Sisters of St. Anne.
A statue of the mother of Mary, St. Anne, reading a book to her daughter, and a bell have been moved from outside the Sisters of St. Anne convent to outside Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. In addition, a monument with an inscription paying tribute to St. Anne School and the Sisters of St. Anne was erected.
Father Reid said the dedication brought closure to the closing of St. Anne School. A handful of former St. Anne teachers, staff and students attended.
“They could really appreciate,” Father Reid said, “and celebrate the fact that this tribute area will continue to tell the story of St. Anne School. It was very well received by them.”
He said that two Sisters of St. Anne were missed at the ceremony because they were with their community celebrating special anniversaries.
“Absent was Sister Constance Bayeur, the last principal of St Anne School who served in that role for 42 years. ‘Sister Connie,’ as she is fondly remembered here, was celebrating her 60th anniversary as a Sister of St Anne. Also absent was Sister Pauline Weldon, a longtime teacher at St. Anne School,” Father Reid said.
All Saints Academy has about 200 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight.
“All Saints Academy is doing very well,” Father Reid said. “There’s a level of vitality there that is very encouraging moving forward. I still believe that not only was it necessary to create All Saints Academy from St. Louis and St. Anne’s schools, but it has actually served us well in enhancing the quality of education that we can provide.”