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A Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP client was unanimously granted a special permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the conversion of the St. Joseph-St. Therese Church rectory into a group residence facility for young women. The owners of the building, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, are represented by Attorney Peter McNulty from MHTL. The rectory building originally closed in October 2021, and was used to house Parrish priests. Mr. McNulty reported that the program is a joint venture of the Department of Children and Families, and the Old Colony Y called the STARR program. The facility will house a maximum of nine girls, anywhere from age 12 to 18, and provide counseling and other programming focused on education and residency. In response to concerns about the conversion and parking for the facility, Board member Stephen Brown said the proposal “probably was the most minimally invasive use possible. You’re going to put a bunch of kids in there who are not even allowed to drive.”

Formerly corporate counsel at a large Massachusetts Community Bank, Mr. McNulty’s practice is primarily focused on corporate and financial transactional work. Mr. McNulty handles the full spectrum of corporate and real estate matters and has assisted clients with entity formation, real estate transactions, mergers, acquisitions and investments, as well as commercial and residential acquisitions and dispositions. Additionally, he represents and advises various financial institutions on a wide range of topics, including corporate governance, compliance, construction and secured lending, work outs and modifications, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and general litigation.

Mr. McNulty graduated from Suffolk University Law School. During his time in school, Mr. McNulty worked at the Massachusetts Catholic Conference as a non-profit lobbyist. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and graduated from Dedham High School.