WHITINSVILLE (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Lee Hammel TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
lhammel@telegram.com
The former House of Affirmation at 120 Hill St., Whitinsville, has been sold to a Northbridge businessman.
James M. Knott Sr., of 456 Hill St., Whitinsville, bought the property for $800,000 last week. Mr. Knott, owner and CEO of Riverdale Mills Corp. in Northbridge said he intends to use the 89-room, 26-acre property as a conference center and wedding facility.
The property is the subject of a Worcester Superior Court civil suit filed by two gay men who accused Diocese of Worcester officials of discriminating against them on the basis of sexual orientation while they were negotiating to buy it. James Fairbanks and Alain J. Beret, a married couple from Sutton, said they planned to renovate the mansion and turn it into a banquet hall to host weddings and other functions as well as their personal residence.
Their suit alleges they were turned down by church officials solely because they are gay and might have held same-sex weddings on the property.
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