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May 17, 2019 Deal Watch Today

Hartford attorney to takeover downtown synagogue

synagogue hartford HBJ Photo | Joe Cooper The former Ados Israel Synagogue at 215 Pearl St. in downtown Hartford.
Photo | Jose L. Del Castillo
Photo | Jose L. Del Castillo
By Joe Cooper

A Hartford attorney is now the new owner of a long-vacant synagogue in downtown Hartford.

Jose L. Del Castillo, owner of law firm Del Castillo & Associates LLC, said he submitted the winning $196,000 bid during a recent foreclosure auction for the nearly 100-year brick-and-limestone edifice at 215 Pearl St. The former Ados Israel Synagogue, which shuttered in the 1980s after some 20 years in operation, abuts TheaterWorks.

The purchase is expected to be completed in the next month depending on certain approvals in court, which will decide how to divide the $186,000 in back taxes owed on the property.

An investor group known as 215 Pearl LLC last acquired the building for $375,000 in 2003, according to the city’s assessor’s office. 

Castillo, a former chairman of the Hartford Redevelopment Agency, said he’s considering two options for the 8,000-square-foot building: wait and resell it; or renovate the site for at least $500,000 for a minimum of three potential commercial tenants.

Major work is needed on the building’s plumbing, electrical and heating systems, but Castillo has already received interest from several potential tenants, including two of the bidders in last week’s auction.

Ideas range from remodeling the basement into a food court and the first level into a meeting area or restaurant. Another bidder proposed creating a Holocast museum at the synagogue.

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