Heritage Family Credit Union, headquartered in Rutland is pleased to announce that they have reached a deal with the City of Rutland for the City’s purchase of a 20+ acre portion of the property that previously housed the College of St. Joseph, located at 71 Clement Rd. in Rutland.
The city signed a purchase and sale agreement to buy the gymnasium, the adjacent ball fields, a maintenance building, several acres of undeveloped land, and the associated parking lot from Heritage Family Credit Union. The Board of Alderman met on Tuesday, Sept. 8 and approved the purchase of the property for $1.8 million. Earlier this month, it was announced that the city and the Rutland Redevelopment Authority (RRA) secured a grant to assist with the purchase of said property in the amount of $350,000. The purchase is contingent upon city voters’ approval of a $1,450,000 bond on November’s ballot.
The city has occupied the property since the summer of 2019, through a lease agreement with the credit union. Parks and Recreation Superintendent for the City of Rutland Kim Peters said, “The Recreation Department and city of Rutland are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to utilize the athletic complex at the former College of St. Joseph gymnasium. This facility has provided a space for many programs and events, which have served all ages of the community, ranging from essential worker child care to a safe place for seniors to walk indoors. We are grateful for the support from the board of alderman, the mayor, recreation staff, and Heritage Family Credit Union. These partners have been and will continue to be instrumental in the successes of this facility and its contributions to the greater Rutland community. The Recreation staff is excited and ready to move forward with supporting the community in new and creative ways utilizing this facility.”
Mayor David Allaire echoed that excitement. “What began as a major setback for the city with the closing of the College of St. Joseph, has now been transformed into a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure this facility for use by Rutlanders of all ages. With the support of Rutland voters in November, the CSJ property is poised to become a major hub of activity with the city-run athletic complex as a great complement to the other plans for the campus, in so many ways.”
Heritage Family Credit Union has worked with local firm Enman, Kesselring Engineering to subdivide the property to create mutli-use options on the former campus’s 129+ acres of land. While expressing his sadness that the College of St. Joseph wasn’t able to maintain its presence in the Rutland community, Heritage Family Credit Union’s President / CEO, Matt Levandowski shared his hope for the future of the property. “Heritage Family Credit Union has been working with city officials and developers to make the former campus a vibrant part of the greater Rutland community. We are excited at the many possibilities that currently exist in creating a new community center, where Rutland residents can benefit from the many options being proposed for the former CSJ campus. I believe this is the best use of the space and we are delighted to see so many be helped by the anticipated purchase of the property.”
In addition to the proposed sale of property to the city, Heritage Family Credit Union has secured a purchase and sale agreement from Heartland Communities of America, located in Bonita Springs, Florida, to develop, own and operate a senior care community that will include independent living apartments and assisted living with memory care on the former CSJ college campus. Heartland has agreed to purchase the remaining 108+ acres of the campus and is preparing design plans to construct the first phase of 175 units beginning next spring in the senior care community being developed on the site. Heartland plans additional phases and varied additional uses for the remainder of the property.
