Completion of Sacred Heart Church sale in Cutchogue is delayed

Peconic Community School is facing delays of its planned purchase of Cutchogue’s Sacred Heart R.C. Church campus.

The private school — which originally hoped to close the deal by February or March of this year and open the new school facility in September — is now hoping to complete the purchase this summer and be ready to take in students by January 2024, according to PCS co-executive director Liz Casey Searl.

“We unfortunately had to push it back until [next] January, given that the closing was pushed back,” Ms. Casey Searl said. “There’s still work that we want to do so we’re going to give ourselves that grace period to push to open in January instead of September.”

Peconic Community School was founded by Ms. Casey Searl and her sister and co-executive director, Kathryn Casey Quigley, in 2012. The private school started with just nine students but quickly outgrew its rented space at East End Arts and Music School in downtown Riverhead and moved to its current home at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church on Main Road in Aquebogue. There are roughly 100 students currently enrolled in pre-K though eighth grades. .

Our Lady of Mercy school closed in 2018. The church has been shuttered since the end of 2012.

PCS announced its plan to purchase the 10.2-acre Sacred Heart campus last September. Ms. Casey Searl and Ms. Casey Quigley presented their plans for the property to the community at a packed event at Cutchogue-New Suffolk Library in December, an event which also served as the launch of the Cutchogue Civic Association.

A capital fundraising campaign with a monetary goal of $5 to $8 million dollars will be launched once the purchase of the new facility is completed, Ms. Casey Searl said. The funds would go towards renovations on the property.

“Everything is going smoothly, everything is great with the local parish,” Ms. Casey Searl said. “But when you get to the [Catholic] Diocese level, it’s just a layer of bureaucracy and red tape that is more complicated and really just slower.”

The sale of the property includes the former Our Lady of Mercy Regional School, Sacred Heart church, a house which currently serves as the rectory, a garage or “carriage house” behind the rectory and woodlands which stretch north of the campus. Some of the possible plans for the property include creating walking trails in the wooded area, building a performance space in the former church and an art studio with a community kiln in the carriage house. There are also have plans for a playground, Ms.Casey Searl said.

“Getting the grounds ready will be one of the biggest pieces that we’ll need to embark on,” she noted.

The Zoning Board of Appeals held a hearing last Thursday on the school’s application for a special exception use of the property. Although they haven’t heard about a decision yet, Ms. Casey Searl said the hearing went well.

Ms. Casey Searl said she has an “overwhelming sense of gratitude for the warmth of the community.” Staff and students participated in Cutchogue’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade March 11, and said they felt residents already welcoming them to the heart of the village.

“As we walked by the new building, it was just a really good feeling of hope and excitement for the future,” Ms.Casey Searl said. “We just can’t wait to get started on the beautification of the property.”