St. Raymond Academy Closing in 2027 Leaves Bronx Lot's Future Unfiled
Parish officials cite enrollment near half capacity in announcing the Bronx all-girls Catholic school's closure, but the public record underneath the building has a detail the closure story skips: a 2012 ACRIS zoning document tying the lot to neighboring parish property, recorded the same day as a title company certification, with no DOB filing since to say what comes next.
St. Raymond Academy for Girls, the all-girls Catholic school at 1725 Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx, will close in June 2027 after 67 years, parish officials announced, citing enrollment that has stayed near half capacity despite efforts to sustain the school, according to the Bronx Times. Rev. James Cruz, the parish pastor, called it “a deeply difficult decision for our parish family.” St. Raymond High School for Boys and the parish elementary school next door will stay open.
Why it matters
The closure story is about enrollment. The property record underneath it is about the lot. ACRIS shows Bronx block 3958, lot 140, the parcel at 1725 Castle Hill Avenue, is owned by The Roman Catholic Church of St. Raymond, the parish entity, and that the most recent document touching that lot is not a deed or a mortgage. It is a zoning filing, CRFN 2012000154347, recorded April 18, 2012, which by its document type ties the school’s zoning status to the parish’s other holdings rather than standing alone. A second filing recorded the same day, a title certification from Stewart Title Insurance Company, points to a financing or title transaction wrapped around that zoning move. Neither filing is a sale. Both are the kind of paperwork that precedes one, or that locks a parcel’s development rights in place for a parish that has no plans to sell.
A concerned parent of a current student told the Bronx Times: “As a parent of a current student, I am both heartbroken and outraged by Fr. Cruz’s decision to close the Academy.”
The numbers
What is missing from the record matters as much as what is in it. A check of New York City Department of Buildings filings for 1725 Castle Hill Avenue turned up no permit, demolition, or new-building application at the address. Fourteen years after the last zoning document touched the lot, and with a closure date now set for 2027, nothing has been filed with the city that would signal the parish is preparing to redevelop, subdivide, or sell the site. The building that housed 67 years of students sits on a parcel whose next chapter has not reached a city agency yet, not DOB, and not a new ACRIS deed.
What’s next
Watch ACRIS for a deed or mortgage against Bronx block 3958, lot 140, which would be the first public signal of a sale or refinancing tied to the closure, and watch DOB for any permit filing at 1725 Castle Hill Avenue once the school year ends. For more Bronx and New York City coverage, see our New York market page.
On the record
Primary record
- Our dataACRIS shows the lot at 1725 Castle Hill Avenue (Bronx block 3958, lot 140) carries a recorded zoning document, CRFN 2012000154347, dated March 15, 2012 and recorded April 18, 2012, filed in the name of The Roman Catholic Church of St. Raymond, the current owner of record, tying this parcel's zoning status to the parish's broader holdings in a way the closure announcement does not address.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
- Our dataA second document, CRFN 2012000154346, a title certification underwritten by Stewart Title Insurance Company, was recorded the same day, April 18, 2012, as the zoning filing, indicating the zoning arrangement on the school's lot was paired with a title or financing transaction rather than filed on its own.View the record on a836-acris.nyc.gov
Also reported by
- Bronx Times, St. Raymond Academy for Girls to close in 2027Parish officials announced the all-girls Catholic school will close in June 2027, citing enrollment that has stayed near half capacity