Transforming St. Pius V into a Multi-Functional Campus for Seton and Brilla

Working alongside a fantastic team, we transformed a formerly vacant, 100-year-old property in the Bronx into a multi-functional campus for educational, residential, and office use.

We initially supported Seton and Brilla by performing a feasibility study to assess the potential acquisition of the historic St. Pius V property, this was followed by overseeing the purchase and related financing processes. With the property acquired, we guided the design and construction of the former church, convent, and rectory into their new Seton network office headquarters. In addition to new office space, the campus includes separate housing to accommodate 30 Seton teaching fellows and a gymnasium that will be utilized by students from the adjacent Brilla College Prep campus.

The comprehensive renovation of the three adjacent buildings included, structural work, installation of an elevator, the upgrade of all incoming building services, and new roofs and HVAC systems, as well as numerous other initiatives. In addition to the physical renovations, we collaborated with JM Zoning to support Seton and Brilla through the entire change-of-use process, successfully obtaining the Department of Building’s plan approval and ultimately occupancy permits for the space to be used.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project but especially Method Design, Signature Construction, EMTG, Tower Consulting Engineers, and Kiefer & Schuster, for your invaluable contributions to the project’s success.