Campus Improvement Project

Groundbreaking, June 2002 View Construction Photos 2002 - 2003

Dedication Sunday, September 2003 View Dedication Photos

Construction of Office Space, November 2003 View Post-Dedication Construction Photos

We joyously broke ground on Father's Day (June 2002) for our new worship and gathering space. Our $8 million Campus Improvement project also includes upgrades to our school, the gym, the heating system in the school, additional meeting rooms for adult education programs and more. This is a comprehensive project that addresses many needs of our large and growing parish.

Demolition and construction on the previous church space for offices, a library, computer lab, and conference rooms as soon as we began using the new space in August. Dedication of the new Church was held in September 2003. We hope to be using the new office space in the Spring of 2004.

Update - February 2004 - Second Phase of Construction Project
Former church building transformed into administrative and educational use.

When you step inside the space that was once our church, it takes more than a few moments to orient yourself. The transformation from one large space where we once worshipped to a two-level structure with offices for parish and school staff, a networked computer science classroom for our school children, an expanded library for the school and parish, meeting rooms for religious education, small conference rooms, rest rooms and more, is a remarkable sight.

The first level, which is on the same level as our new church, has 13 offices for parish staff and the school principal, a health room, large reception areas for both the parish and the school, a secure file room, and fire-rated archive rooms for the school and the parish office.

A workroom to be used by both the parish and school staff has copiers, mail boxes and work surfaces. The workroom connects the parish and school office areas. A common lounge to be shared by parish and school staff is also provided.

Conference/meeting rooms, storage areas and a rest room are also part of the first floor layout.

Moving to the second floor, you'll find a large, flexible meeting room that can hold a large number of people, perhaps as many as 75 depending on how seating is arranged. This room can also be subdivided, via movable walls, into three smaller meeting rooms. Additionally, there are three other meeting rooms on this floor. This area is being called the religious education center.

Restrooms, a general storage room and a kitchenette breakout area for the meeting room are also found on the second level.

The second floor is also home to a greatly expanded library, which will also have its own work and storage room. Perhaps the most exciting area of the second floor is a computer science classroom for our school, and potentially for use by adults during non-school hours. The computer room will have 27 workstations, which will be networked.

A computer server room will also be housed on the second floor. Through this server, the computers in the parish and the school will be networked.

There are three ways to reach the new top level. One is via a stairway that has been reconstructed to be wider and to extend from the school level to the new top level. (This stairway formerly was in the northwest corner of the church behind the old sacristy.) You can also reach the top level via the new stairway that is adjacent to the new elevator. Both the new stairway and elevator travel from the lower level of the school (near the cafeteria) to the church level and finally to the top floor.

The transformation of this former church space into a highly functional space for child and adult education, and parish and school administration, is indeed another new beginning for St. Mary Catholic Faith Community.

An open house for all parishioners and guests to visit this new, transformed space is being planned tentatively for the last Sunday in April. Confirmed details will be published in the bulletin.

Building Update for December 2003
Progress continues in the remodeling of our former church space. Drywall of the first level office space is nearly complete. Windows are also being installed on the first level as well as the sprinkler system. Air handling equipment ducts and the sprinkler system are being installed on the second level. Stud walls are being erected. Drywall will begin soon on the second level. The old stairway that was behind the sacristy has been demolished. A new, wider stairway from the school level to the new library on the second level will begin soon.

Pictures of some of this construction are available in the Scrapbook, see the Post-Dedication Construction Photo Album.

Building Update for May 2003
Work is progressing inside and outside. The parish office was taken down at the end of April to make way for our new parking area. A large parking area will be created, encompassing what had been the frontage road in front of the parish office, as well as the strip of land that we purchased from the state. The parking lot work has resulted in some traffic changes on the campus. All school bus traffic is now routed to the lower lot. All parking is restricted to the lower lot and neighboring streets. The repaving of the parking lot is expected to be completed by the end of June.

The staff has taken up residence in its temporary quarters, occupying a portion of the school cafeteria. A new wall has been built to separate the office from the cafeteria. Cubicle partitions provide designated spaces for the staff members. A special thanks to parish member Dan Paruzynski and his employer, National Business Furniture, for the contribution of several units of modular office partitions. The staff will remain in this temporary location until the current church is remodeled to accommodate offices and meeting rooms. That will be started after we occupy the new church in fall of this year.

On the new gathering space and church structure, there are many areas of focus:

• the copper roof work is being completed;
• most of the windows are in;
• dry wall has been completed in the gathering space, meeting rooms, rest rooms and hallways;
• the elevator is installed;
• new stairways that lead from the gathering space to the cafeteria and parish hall below are in;
• the concrete floor of the church has been poured;
• the ceiling of the gathering space is in;
• the entranceway for the new parish and school offices is prepped and ready for completion
• the baptistry has been formed and concrete has been poured to form the steps which will lead into the water.

March 2003 Update
Windows and roofs are the primary focus on the project these days. Milwaukee Plate Glass is busy installing aluminum frames and glass at the numerous holes that you can see in the exterior walls. A lot of discussions have transpired regarding details of these units, from aesthetic issues to assuring long lasting connections to surrounding materials. This is particularly important on the clerestory windows at the four, dropped roof sections of the Worship Space.

The Gathering Area roof is largely water-tight and the copper roof panel systems will be starting soon. The shiny copper finish you will see initially will gradually change to a darker brown, (like those old pennies you have in your pocket), and will ultimately turn the green color that gives copper it's wide-spread appeal.. Don't expect to see a lot of the green coloring for a number of years though!

February 2003 Update
From the outside, it is pretty obvious that progress is being made on the new church and the gathering space. The steel trusses that will form the roof structure of the gathering space are on site and will be installed during the month of February. The exterior brick work for the church is nearly complete. Windows will be installed next. The temperate weather and lack of major snowfalls has been a great boost to the construction schedule.

What is not so obvious is what’s going on in the lower level of the gathering space, which is where our new parish hall/cafeteria will be located. A commercial-grade kitchen is being installed in the cafeteria and is on schedule for use during our 2003 Festival.

The current parish office building will be torn down in early summer. This will allow the parking lot to be paved and ready for festival time as well. The parish staff will use the present cafeteria as their temporary office space until their new offices will be ready in late 2003 or early 2004. Their new offices will be created as a result of the remodeling that is going to take place in our present church. That structure will have two floors in it, with offices for the parish and school administrative staffs, as well as some common meeting rooms and work rooms.

New Church, Gathering Space Rising Before our Eyes
It started with ceremonial shovels full of earth turned on Father’s Day weekend in June 2002. Today, from week to week, progress is evident as the shape of our new gathering space and church continues to form on the St. Mary’s construction site.

The early weeks of work included the removal of the rectory and site preparation. The fieldstones used in the rectory’s porch were preserved and will be incorporated in another area of the parish campus. Once the site was properly graded, the necessary infrastructure work-such as sewer and plumbing-was completed.

Concurrent to the site work for the new buildings, the old boilers in the school were removed. New boilers were installed before the start of the new school year. This maintenance work is an important component of the overall project and budget. The project includes a number of other school enhancements such as new space for an expanded library, and computer and science lab classrooms. A new gym floor is also planned.

The Building Committee and several subcommittees continue to meet. After much deliberation over a variety of options for the roof material of the church, the committee made its final decision to go with a copper roof, which had been the architect’s original recommendation. The committee explored other options besides the copper, considering cost, longevity and aesthetics. In the end, copper was deemed the best choice.

The Construction Subcommittee meets with the project management team on a regular basis to review progress and discuss various construction matters.

The Art and Environment Subcommittee is reviewing designs for some of the major pieces needed in the interior of the church, such as the altar, ambo, pews and tabernacle. This committee has also inventoried and reviewed a list of existing pieces of statuary, artwork and hardware to determine what can be retained and used in the new church.

Keep your eyes on the progress of our exciting campus improvement project. In mid to late October, the wood beams, which will form the graceful shape of the church interior, will be erected. Watch the bulletin for details as to the exact timing of the arrival and placement of the beams. Regular updates in the bulletin will also keep you informed as to the progress of the project.

Architect Renderings

Click drawing to view larger version