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May 5, 2025

Site of former Worcester private school back on the market

An aerial view of an abandoned high school and athletic fields Photo | Courtesy of NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs The former site of Saint Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Worcester is back on the market.

The former site of Saint Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Worcester is back on the market, with a suggested sale price of $6.5 million.

The site of the former private Catholic school was the location of a planned senior home development by Goddard/Homestead Inc. of Worcester. The 23.8-acre campus at 781 Grove St. was purchased by Goddard/Homestead from the Diocese of Worcester for $4.75 million in December 2021. 

Goddard/Homestead had planned on constructing a 158-unit senior housing complex at the site, with a planned opening in late 2024. 

The site has active approved permits for that project, according to a May 2 press release from NAI Glickman Kovago and Jacobs, the Worcester-based real estate firm handling the listing of the property. 

Goddard/Homestead operates Goddard House and Homestead Hall, two senior living facilities in Worcester. Joan Cusson, the nonprofit's CEO, said she had been hoping the planned facility would be able to bring more affordable senior living options to the city, but the change in construction costs and borrowing rates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project financially untenable. 

"We're still hoping that we can work with another local housing nonprofit to incorporate our mission somewhere else, or to help us with our facilities where we are now." Cusson said. "We're just not quite sure what the future of our organization will be."

Both facilities were part of a $5-million sale-and-lease-back agreement with Hampton Properties of Worcester in February 2024. Goddard executed that agreement to help fund upgrades to its existing properties and the planned demolition of the Saint Peter-Marian site, according to a February 2024 press release from the nonprofit. 

That demolition work did not end up occurring; athletic facilities and three buildings at the site are still standing.

Saint Peter-Marian closed for good in 2020, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, merging with Holy Name Central Catholic Junior Senior High School to form Saint Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School. The new school is based out of the former Holy Name campus at 144 Granite St. 

Sitting in a RS-7 zoning district, the former Saint Peter-Marian site is suitable for a continuing care retirement community or single-family residential development, according to NAI Glickman.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to include details about the decision to sell the property from Goddard/Homestead CEO Joan Cusson. 

Eric Casey is managing editor of the Worcester Business Journal, who primarily reports on the real estate and manufacturing industries.

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