Stigmatines vs. Waltham school land battle builds

Waltham is suing the Stigmatine religious order as an eminent domain battle between the church and city heats up, with security guards confronting city surveyors and Waltham seeking potentially millions of dollars from the obscure religious order whose property it’s taking.

Both sides are due in Middlesex Superior Court on Sept. 5 for an injunction hearing as Waltham seeks to force the Stigmatines to let city surveyors and other workers on the property so plans to build a new high school there can move forward, according to a suit filed by the city.

The Stigmatines, however, continue to object strenuously to the city’s vote in June to take control of the pastoral 46-acre property off Lexington Street in North Waltham — to the point that this week the order hired Alliance Detective & Security Service of Everett to patrol its grounds and boot out any city employees who showed up.

“Please be advised that you should immediately alert all agents of the City not to enter or trespass any portion of the Stigmatine property,” Stigmatines attorney Peter Flynn told Waltham in a letter earlier this week.

Flynn told the Herald that a city contractor had shown up yesterday morning and been told to leave.

“We want the property back because there is no way this taking can be deemed legal,” Flynn said, claiming the city hadn’t followed proper procedure.

Government entities in Massachusetts can buy private property at fair value through eminent domain if there’s a public interest in doing so. Building a new school is a common reason municipalities do so. The city says it will pay the Stigmatines $18 million.

The property has been the U.S. headquarters of the Stigmatines — formally the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata — for nearly 100 years, though just a handful of elderly priests remain there. Waltham assessor data values the property at $22.7 million.

Waltham also is leveling accusations of badfaith tampering against the Stigmatines — and wants a jury to determine compensation. In the city’s suit, Waltham alleges that shifty behavior by the Stigmatines to delay and change the terms of the acquisition, which was first proposed in 2016, have cost the city “millions of dollars” in higher construction costs.

Further, the city says the Stigmatines tried to subvert Waltham’s discussions with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, a state entity that helps municipalities pay for work on schools. The city claims the Stigmatines in July sent the agency a letter urging the state not to give the potential $150 million the MSBA is on track to kick in to foot about half the cost of the new school. The city says the Stigmatines also threatened to sue the MSBA if the authority continued to work with the city on this location.

Flynn said the Stigmatines “absolutely” sent the letter — and had every right to.

“They can let anybody in the world know that they think the city of Waltham is mismanaging their money,” Flynn said.

The city said in the lawsuit that if it can’t do the site work to move forward with the agreement with the MSBA by the end of September, Waltham will lose its place in line for MSBA money and have to restart the application process.

Waltham city solicitor John Cervone couldn’t be reached yesterday. Mayor Jeannette McCarthy didn’t respond to a request for comment.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER EVANS COMPLAINTS: The eminent domain battle between the Stigmatine religious order, entrance seen above and below, and the city of Waltham is heating up, as the group hires security to keep city workers off the property.