PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The former St. Joseph Central School is on the market.
Colebrook Realty Services has listed the Maplewood Avenue property for sale or for lease. Diocese of Springfield spokesman Mark DuPont said the Roman Catholic Diocese is willing to listen to all types of offers for the entire property, pieces, or a lease agreement.
"We try to give ourselves a lot of room to maneuver and get the best possible return," DuPont said. "We're open to all offers."
Colebrook has listed the school for sale at $2 million or is willing to lease at $6 per square foot. The former 44,650 square-foot high school is on slightly more than an acre of land in downtown Pittsfield. It contains offices, classrooms, a gymnasium, cafeteria, locker rooms and a full kitchen. It also features a dozen or so parking spaces.
"We had a few very soft interests but that never came to fruition," DuPont said.
The 120-year-old high school was closed last spring. It was opened in 1897 as St. Joseph's Academy but over time enrollment dropped significantly. Eventually, the diocese could not financially support it.
But several of the church's properties in the area have faced a similar situation over the years. Pittsfield particularly has been successful in finding developers for the properties.
"The money from all of these church sales stayed with the Pittsfield Catholic Community," DuPont noted.
St. Mark's School was closed in 2015 and Hillcrest Educational redeveloped the site. The St. Mary the Morningstar property was recently sold to CT Management, which has plans to transform the structures into market-rate housing — just as it did with the former Notre Dame School and the former Holy Family Church.
"Other than St. Joe, all of the properties have been sold," DuPont said."We've been generally pleased with our real estate consultants."
St. Theresa, on South Street, was the most recent church to be demolished, and that lot is the site of the current Berkshire Place. But, that is an outlier. Nearly all of the former church properties were redeveloped in ways preserving the historic integrity of the buildings.
The St. Joe property is particularly notable because it anchors one end of North Street's main drag. Over the last decade, North Street has undergone a massive renovation as officials focused attention on revamping downtown.
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Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.
This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.
The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.
DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.
"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths.
"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."
Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.
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