Group Plans to Purchase and Renovate Alton's Ursuline Convent into a Community Center
Cultural, Agronomic, and Technological Community (CATco) has big plans for the Ursuline Convent, and they're asking for donations to close the deal.
ALTON - A local friend group hopes to revitalize the Ursuline Convent and create a community center in Alton.
Located at 845 Danforth Street in Alton, the Ursuline Convent closed in 2014. Donnie Reynolds and his friends have founded Cultural, Agronomic, and Technological Community (CATco), an organization that plans to buy the building and revamp it into a community center where people can spend time without paying money.
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“It honestly started as a friend group who just saw this place sitting, going to waste,” said Reynolds, who serves as CATco’s executive director. “We see this as a very multi-use space. We are hoping that we can provide a free third space for people to come and hang out, explore their hobbies, their passions, get to know each other without alcohol, without the expectation of being forced to spend money.”
Reynolds explained that the plan started when his friends of over 20 years were playing the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons. The friends built a community center in the game. When they realized the Ursuline Convent was for sale in Alton, they “decided to see if it was a realistic possibility” to build the center in real life.
In addition to music practice rooms, art studios, a “Banned Book Library,” a chapel that would be available for events, and other amenities inside the convent, the CATco team is considering turning the dorms into “an affordable living complex.” Reynolds emphasized that this is not a shelter, but would potentially be rent-controlled dorms for people looking for a place to live.
Outside the building, the team hopes to create a “community farm,” with chickens, bees, a garden and a park space for people to enjoy.
Through fundraising efforts, CATco currently has funds at a little over 8% of the property’s value, which will go towards a down payment. They are still asking for donations.
The building’s owners have donated $384,000 of the property’s value to CATco, so the organization has to raise $315,000 to purchase the building and the 25 attached acres.
They are hoping to close on the property by Sept. 30, 2025. The convent will then need to be rezoned and cleaned up before it can open as a community center.
Reynolds emphasized that the group wants to hear from the community. They want feedback on what people want to see in the Ursuline Convent space.
“We don’t know everything,” Reynolds said. “If you see us doing something that you think is not a good idea, let us know, please. Tell us why it’s a bad idea. Tell us what would be a better idea. We thrive on criticism, we really do. That’s how we learn.”
He added that many younger people are looking for a community space or a spot where they can spend time without breaking the bank. CATco aims to provide that space for Riverbend residents.
“A lot of people who did the right things in my generation, went to college for useful degrees, still are underemployed or overworked and underpaid, and so many people I see are burning out because of that,” Reynolds said. “They have no outlet, because they don’t have any money where they can go to the bowling alley and hang out with some friends. They can’t afford to go to a concert, they can’t go to the movies, they can’t do that kind of stuff anymore because everything’s going to rent or costs for groceries, produce, everything else. We’re really hoping we can provide some support.”
For more information about CATco, visit their official website at MadCATco.org. To donate, click here. The CATco team runs exclusively on donations and volunteer hours.
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