Housing developer Azimuth Development Group has signed a contract to purchase All Hallows Catholic High School in Highbridge for $24 million, according to city records.
The news comes months after the 116-year-old Catholic high school announced it would be closing for good at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. At the time the announcement, the school president cited financial constraints, aging infrastructure and a decline in enrollment numbers.
City records recently made public show Azimuth through the entity of Bmad Walton LLC signed an agreement in March to purchase the property. According to its website, Azimuth is an affordable and market race housing development firm that has mixed-used properties in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
Azimuth declined News 12's request for comment on what its plans are for the property.
Families and faculty at the school were notified in January that this was the final school year, unless they were able to raise $2.4 million by a certain date. They immediately launched a fundraising campaign to save the school but ultimately did not succeed.
"This year, we had 400 applicants, so our numbers were up all around. It had nothing to do with enrollment. I just think that the powers that saw an opportunity to make a sale, take the money and run, and the ministry, what we were founded on was forgotten about," said Orlando Brenes, director of admissions for All Hallows High School and a 1997 graduate.
Brenes says there have also been representatives from a charter school walking around the property and taking measurements as recently as Monday.
"There's a charter school has been walking around the building. So, we don't know if it's going to be turned into a charter school or was going to be turned into development. There's just it's not it's not really clear right now as to what's happened," said Brenes " Students are upset, seeing all these people walking around their building, taking measurements, talking about removing the seal, it's hurtful...I don't know if there is any hope at this point, we fought very hard."
The school is set to graduate their final class on June 7.