MATCH Middle School May Leave Forest Hills for the South End

SOUTH END — Plans to convert the massive Immaculate Conception Church on Harrison Avenue into a public middle school are underway, signaling a possible end to the historic building's three-year vacancy. If the plan goes through, would move from its home at .

Officials from the MATCH Charter Public School, which handles all grades, recently announced that the school has signed a purchase and sale agreement for the 45,781-square-foot building, with plans to convert the existing structure into a middle school for Boston students.

The agreement includes the main church, which dates back to 1860, and the adjacent office building, built in 1990. Both spaces are currently vacant and the interior of the church has been gutted.

"I love the idea of that space. I love the neighborhood," said MATCH Executive Director Alan Safran on Tuesday. "We have the idea that it could work to build a small school within a big space."

At 1.2 million cubic feet, the Immaculate Conception Church is four times bigger than MATCH's high school in Allston/Brighton. Safran admitted to being "stunned" by the building's mass at first, but said his team is working on a design plan that takes full advantage of the size.

"We only need to build a couple floors of it and [we'll] have these inspirational tall ceilings and stained glass windows," he said.

Safran and other MATCH officials have been scouting out permanent locations for the middle school for 1 ½ years. Students in grades 6-8 are currently housed in the former St. Andrew's the Apostle School on Wachusett Street in Forest Hills. The lease on the space runs out in the spring of 2012.

The Immaculate Conception Church was last used by the Jesuits and was known as the Jesuit Urban Center until its closure during the summer of 2007. It has been vacant ever since.

The exterior of the church would be preserved under the school's proposed plan, with some restoration efforts included. The inside of the church would be converted into full classrooms, small teaching spaces and other program areas. The office space would become the school's administrative area and the basement of the building, currently divided into 25 dorm rooms, would house MATCH's live-in tutors.

Little to no outdoor activity would occur on-site, but Safran said he hoped to make arrangements for students to utilize various recreational spaces in the neighborhood such as the Jim Rice baseball field and the Salvation Army. Details on busing have not been finalized, but Safran said the school can be flexible with its arrangements. A traffic consultant has been hired and detailed plans for transportation as well as construction will be presented to residents well in advance of their implementation, said attorney Dennis Quilty.

"The process is at its very, very early stages," Quilty said. "This is a very early iteration and we'll have much more to present in the future."

On Tuesday, members of the Blackstone/Franklin Square Neighborhood Association said they were pleased by MATCH's initial proposal.

"As a parent in the South End, the barrier for keeping families in the city is access to quality education," said Susan Battista. "I can't think of a better use for an old building from the Catholic dioceses than a quality school that helps children."

In the MATCH model, students get two hours of one-on-one or small group tutoring each day.