Catholic girls high school in the Bronx will stay open after foundation steps in

A Catholic girls high school in New York City has been spared from closure after a foundation agreed to buy the property and lease it back to the school.

The Bronx Times reports that the Bally’s Foundation, affiliated with the gaming company that seeks to develop a casino complex at nearby Ferry Point Park, will buy Preston High School in the Throggs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx.

But following sustained public pressure from students, parents, alumnae and local officials, the Sisters changed course and accepted the deal.

The agreement calls for Bally’s Foundation to buy Preston’s waterfront property for $8.5 million, lease it back to the school for $1 per year on a 25-year lease with five-year renewals and pay up to $1.6 million for infrastructure repairs and legal and closing fees.