The former St. Maria Goretti church property in Wolcott will soon be the home of the town’s Volunteer Ambulance Association.
Owners St. Basil the Great Parish Corp. and Church of St. Maria Goretti have sold the 1300 Woodtick Road property to the town of Wolcott for $800,000.
In June 2021, the town at referendum approved $2.1 million as part of a larger bond package to purchase the property and for renovations.
Plans call for four new ambulance garage bays in the rear of the building, and the rest of the building will become the new association headquarters and EMS training center.
Administration and education operations will be the first to relocate, allowing members to oversee construction, according to the association’s website.
The church has been dormant for years after closing in 2017.
Association Chief Bill Barratt said the process of acquiring the property started two years ago, and that the renovation should begin soon.
He expects to go out to bid for phase one in the next few weeks, followed by bids for phase two work to the main church then the garage area in phase three.
Barratt said he hopes to have the building occupied by March or April, with the entire complex done by the summer.
The church, built in 1975, has more than 20,000 square feet of space and sits on nearly 10 acres. There are two other buildings on the property, which were included in the sale.
One residential-style building will likely be used as a simulation center for rescue drills. A pavilion on the property will also be utilized as needed.
Barratt said the property was an ideal fit because of the buildings, acreage and the fact that much of it was “turnkey,” for the association’s needs, like the existing classrooms that will be used for EMT and CPR training courses.
Barratt said the association has outgrown its current facility on Todd Road, which is roughly 8,000 square feet and was built for three vehicles.
The association now has four ambulances, plus two emergency SUVs and a mass casualty vehicle.
The Wolcott Volunteer Ambulance Association, Inc. was formed in 1973 and serves the roughly 16,200 residents of Wolcott, covering 20.6 square miles.
There are about 24 volunteer members and 20 paid staff members who respond to more than 2,000 calls for emergency medical care, fire department support, and event standbys each year.
The property has a total appraised value of more than $2 million.
