Notre Dame purchases former Catholic high school

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The University of Notre Dame has bought property and a building across the street from its campus from a Roman Catholic high school that is moving to a new $35 million facility.

The immediate plan is to use St. Joseph's High School to temporarily house departments if renovations are being done to their buildings on campus, university spokesman Dennis Brown said. He's not sure how long the building will be used for that.

"There really is no long-term plan at this point," Brown told the South Bend Tribune ( http://bit.ly/LkCXpY ). "It's still being evaluated."

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

There are no plans to knock it down or do major renovations to the building, which opened in 1953.

Not all of the school's property is being sold to Notre Dame. About 16 acres have been sold to Holy Cross College, which is northwest of the old high school. The four-year Roman Catholic college, which has about 450 students, had sold the land to the high school in the late 1990s.

Matt Edmonds, president of St. Joseph's school board, said Holy Cross had the first option to purchase the land under the terms the school acquired the property.

Although there has been speculation that developers would be interested in buying the site, located along a busy intersection close to Notre Dame. Edmonds said he doesn't believe that will happen.

"I think it's important for Notre Dame," Edmonds said. "They see it as a window into the city."