Stamford developer says in court he is ‘at the tipping point’ on continuing Episcopal church deal

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Having nearly run out of money, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church early last year approached developer Randy Salvatore to step in and "bet" on the church by agreeing to a development deal that would provide the parish with a stream of monthly rental payments, according to Tuesday testimony from Salvatore.

But facing a demolition delay, Salvatore indicated that he might back out.

"Every month, I have to make a decision whether I'm going to write a check or not write a check," Salvatore said. "To be frank, I'm at the tipping point."

The hearing is in its fifth day of testimony in state Superior Court. A lawsuit filed in November by a preservationist group, Save Old Stamford, is preventing the church from demolishing a 136-year-old rectory on the 1.3-acre site where Salvatore wants to build a residential complex.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Economics, Politics • Economy

6 Comments
Posted January 6, 2010 at 7:12 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Pageantmaster [Free Archbishop Cranmer] wrote:

This is a problem all churches face.  People want to have them available for community events, perhaps weddings and funerals and as part of the historic townscape, but they won’t put their money where their mouth is.    I am sure that if “Save Old Stamford” were to raise funds for St Andrew’s that they could achieve their aims with everyone happy, except perhaps Mr Salvatore, who to be fair, has put his money where his mouth is.

We hear the same story, time and time again, communities who support their local churches in every way except the one which enables them to be retained.

January 6, 9:32 am | [comment link]
2. AndrewA wrote:

Of course, to the preservationists, the church is simply part of the architectual heritage of the town.  They want to preserve the aesthetics.  They don’t seem to be terribly interested in preserving or supporting the mission or the people of the Church.  Perhaps if they stop suing and showed up in the pews to give of themselves in time in money, the church would be preserved.  Of course, this being a TEC parish, there is even odds at best on whether they are doing and preaching anything worth preservation.

January 6, 10:44 am | [comment link]
3. First Apostle wrote:

St. Andrew’s is a wonderful little orthodox parish, mostly made up of Carribbean Anglo-Catholics.  It has been terribly neglected by the Diocese of Connecticut.  I have had the great pleasure of attending services there lately, and it is one of the few TEC parishes in Connecticut where the Gospel is authentically proclaimed. 

Any aesthetic argument by the preservationists is absurd.  The old rectory is a giant mess and cannot be restored.  The building’s original intent was to help the parish proclaim the Gospel by giving the priest a place to live.  Now the place in uninhabitable, and the only way it can continue to help in the proclamation of the Gospel is for it to be knocked down.  My fervent prayers are with the priest and people of St Andrew’s today.

January 6, 11:45 am | [comment link]
4. Pageantmaster [Free Archbishop Cranmer] wrote:

Someone has a picture:
http://blog.stamfordadvocate.com/stamford411/2009/07/16/for-sale-1-rectory/
Pretty, but looks as though it needs a lot of work.

January 6, 12:05 pm | [comment link]
5. magnolia wrote:

from the picture it is a very pretty building and i can understand why they are trying to save it. all buildings can be restored but of course it costs oodles of money to do it, so the desire may not be there. a heavy quandry indeed.

January 6, 12:26 pm | [comment link]
6. joe episcopalian wrote:

Your headline made me think this was about the Continuing Episcopal Church.

January 6, 3:22 pm | [comment link]
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