Visitation Academy Preservation Group Targets Landmark Status Amid Sale

The 7.5-acre Visitation Academy and Monastery complex in Bay Ridge stands at the center of a preservation effort as it faces a pending sale to developers. Residents and alumni have organized to push the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate the site as an individual landmark before the property changes hands. The initiative aims to protect the historic structures on the grounds, which are bordered by 89 and 91 streets, Ridge Boulevard, and Colonial Road.

The site has a layered history dating back to the mid-19th century. Before the Sisters of the Visitation arrived in 1903, the land housed the Kings County Inebriates Home, a substance abuse treatment center established in 1867. The first building, designed by Ebenezer L. Roberts, was constructed in the late 1860s, while a second structure was added in 1888. When the Sisters took over, the earlier building became the monastery and the later building served as the academy.

Architectural additions followed in the early 20th century. The Visitation Alumnae Association, formed in 1904, raised funds for a new chapel. In 1911, the cornerstone was laid for the Sacred Heart Chapel, designed by Brooklyn architect Franz J. Berlenbach Jr. and built by Herman Veit. The chapel was dedicated in 1913. Alumni also financed the enclosure wall, constructed in 1922 by J. Carlin, with Stations of the Cross installed on its interior side in 1923.

Caroline Cardillo, a Visitation alumnus and founder of the Visitation Academy & Monastery Landmark Initiative, submitted a Request for Evaluation to the LPC earlier this month. The group has gathered more than 120 volunteers, including neighbors, alumni, and parents, and has distributed fliers translated into Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese. Cardillo stated that the goal is not to halt the sale but to preserve the buildings that define the area’s identity. She noted that the church interior features Carrara marble, historic lighting, a vaulted ceiling, and an organ by Reuben Midmer & Sons.

The preservation effort has precedent. In 2024, when the academy closed, the nonprofit Historic Districts Council submitted its own request for evaluation and collected over 2,000 signatures in support of designation. Frampton Tolbert, the council’s executive director, said the organization supports the neighborhood’s efforts to keep the site as a community asset. He suggested that landmarking the significant buildings could allow for sensitive adaptation of the larger campus for housing or educational uses.

Local Council Member Kayla Santosuosso supports the landmarking push and has been advocating for the site to be calendared by the LPC. She described the upcoming rally as a demonstration of community care and frustration over a process that she said occurred behind closed doors. Santosuosso noted that she has had no update on the status of the sale and has not yet heard from the buyers. She expressed concern about the lack of an open channel of communication for a plot of land of this size.

A representative for the LPC told Brownstoner that the agency has received multiple Requests for Evaluation for the Visitation Academy, including several in the past few months. Staff has determined that the main chapel could merit individual landmark status, but further investigation is needed regarding the site as a whole. The representative added that a request for evaluation does not automatically trigger a designation process, which is controlled by LPC priorities and policies.

The preservation group’s roughly 430-page submission includes an emergency burial ground notice to the LPC’s Archaeology Department. The group cites oral histories indicating a historic monastery burial ground on the site, noting that a long-restricted access area supports this claim. The history of the Sisters in Bay Ridge includes welcoming generations of Brooklyn families, alumni, and notable visitors such as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 1986.

The next step in the preservation effort is a rally scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, at Monastery Square at 8902 Ridge Boulevard. The event is intended to draw the LPC’s attention to the level of local support for landmarking the historic site.