A push for condos in Jamaica Plain

They call themselves the silent opposition.

Some homeowners and lifelong Jamaica Plain residents yesterday said they, too, have launched a campaign about the future of the Blessed Sacrament Church. They are urging the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to ignore the pleas of activists and renters calling for more affordable housing. Instead, they want the neighborhood landmark sold to developers seeking to build market-rate condos.

''The way I see it, all over Boston the church closings have led to condos, but in JP they [community activists] want to turn it into housing projects, and that's upsetting to us," said homeowner Olivia Guerra. ''We have enough affordable housing in JP."

Officials with the archdiocese said yesterday that it is still deciding what to do with the 115-year-old church, which was closed last year to help ease financial woes caused by the clergy sex abuse scandal. The 3-acre property on Centre Street between Hyde and Jackson squares has become the object of a neighborhood battle.

Fearing gentrification and higher rent and housing costs, hundreds of residents and activists support putting more affordable housing units on the site. Community groups, including the Hyde Square Task Force and Jamaica Plain Neighbors Against Gentrification, conducted meetings, collected 1,100 signatures on a petition, and launched a telephone campaign against one developer seeking to build condos.

Guerra said she and other homeowners signed another petition favoring market-rate housing, but said those who disagree have eclipsed their viewpoint.

''It's unfortunate that we are sort of a silent opposition, but they [the community activists] use a lot of bullying tactics. They scare me," she said. ''And if you disagree with them, they say, 'Oh, it's racism.' "

Laz Lopez, 40, said he and his sisters were born and raised in Jamaica Plain and that they attended Blessed Sacrament as children. While he now lives in Providence, he and his family still own property in their old neighborhood and his mother, a Cuban immigrant, still lives there.

''I'm not saying affordable housing is a bad thing, but, look, we can't cure world hunger in Jamaica Plain. We got enough affordable housing," he said, noting the sprawling Bromley Heath housing development near the church and similar units on Washington Street.

''There's a lot of homeowners there that are Latino," he said. ''We aren't all poverty-stricken. JP is a very mixed area, culturally, and it will always be. So let's put some market-rate property there."

Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.