The Waltham City Council voted against seizing Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers’ 46-acre property by eminent domain on May 15, according to a Waltham Patch article from the same date. The majority vote was 12-3 against acquisition of the Catholic congregation’s property, favoring the position of Stigmatine trustees. If seized, the property could have been used as the site of a new Waltham high school.

While the property has piqued council interest for a few years already, the Waltham Patch reported that eminent domain has been in serious discussion since February, when Mayor Jeannette McCarthy requested that the council consider use of the land in public interest. This decision followed a Waltham School Committee December statement that the property would be an ideal site for a new high school. The property trustees, however, were never interested in selling and refused to meet the council’s repeated requests for negotiations, reported the Waltham Patch.

Supporters of eminent domain for the property fear that it will, if not claimed for public use, become commercialized, reported the Waltham Patch. However, the report added that a Stigmatine spokesperson stated that the property will not be commercialized to private enterprises or sold to residential developers.

Owned by the Stigmatine Congregation in Rome, the property is valued at $22.7 million by the council, and McCarthy suggested the council pay compensation of $15 million for the property. The suggested offer would claim all of the land except for two buildings belonging to retired clergy, according to the Waltham Patch. A final vote before the full city council will occur on May 22.

—Michelle Dang