Developer To Secure Natick St. Patrick's Site After Vandalism

NATICK, MA — The developer behind a project at the former Saint Patrick's school in downtown Natick will move to secure the vacant building following a recent break-in and fire, but has plans to begin demolition soon.

Last Thursday, firefighters responded to the 45 East Central St. after a small fire broke out in the former convent along Wilson Street. Police and firefighters found broken windows, trash and graffiti. The two-alarm fire was put out quickly, but a Natick firefighter was injured during the incident.

At the Board of Selectmen meeting on Wednesday, representatives from Stonegate Group said the property will be boarded-up to prevent further vandalism. Natick police had not made any arrests in connection to the fire as of Thursday.

"Stonegate Group was outraged and disturbed by the senseless destruction to both buildings, and we intend to press charges against the responsible parties," the developer said in a statement on social media.

Stonegate plans to demolish some buildings at the former campus to construct housing. The original plan included commercial space at the site, but that was removed from the project because of the delayed spring Town Meeting, where a mixed-use zoning vote was to be held.

The developer applied for a demolition permit on Aug. 4, and expects the work to begin in the coming weeks.

Stonegate was behind the 2017 redevelopment of 13 West Central St.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the former St. Patrick's school building would be torn down.