At last we have a plan for the future. The picture shown above is what the new Parish Center will look like. A building with class that is different, and will add to the over-all beauty of our church grounds. It is not a box as we originally had thought, it has character and will enhance the surroundings.
We want to share with you in this publication the many features of this facility and how it will help us grow into the future. We promised this would be a multi-use facility, and it is. But it is also a top class, regulation size gym facility, that we will all be able to take pride in. It will allow us to have ample meeting space, as well as a place to hold small and large wedding receptions, anniversary parties, first communion functions and many other similar events. There will be fold-up bleachers to seat 200 people in the gym, and the gym will have a wood floor.
The wood floor will be a real advantage for sports not only from it being a better surface to play on, but it is a safer surface and there will be less injuries from falls. Of course the wood floor will have to be covered for our large parish events when the gym will be utilized, but this is part of the plan.
Many have expressed concern that we are omitting a commercial kitchen from the building. However, the plans call for a complete "Warming Concession Area", which will have everything we need to hold any kind of function involving food service. There will be portable steam tables, dry storage, refrigerated storage, warming ovens, and storage for the steam tables. There is a subcommittee studying the other needs of this important area. We simply don�t want to name it a kitchen, and have it fall under expensive regulations for a commercial kitchen.
Part of the planning is to remodel the existing school kitchen, and cafeteria, this will make it more convenient for the school and conserve our new facility for Parish community special events.
Speaking of special events, we urge you to look at the floor plans shown above, and see the stage area that can be used to put on special productions for the enjoyment of the whole parish. This stage can serve for many events, and is just another way this new facility can help us grow into the future.
There is walking track that can be accessed without ever entering the gym area. Also take notice of the stairwells that lead up to the walking track. They have natural light coming in through glass blocks set in the shape of a cross. Additionally, these stairwells have a rounded shape to compliment some of the shapes in our other buildings.
There is storage available for equipment, tables for events, and outside storage for grounds keeping implements. The facility will cost more than originally thought. There are many needs to be served, and $1,500,000 will be required to meet those needs in an effective manner. The sooner we can start the project the less it will cost in the face of rising construction costs. Based on our best estimates, we should be able to start construction by the first part of June. The building will take less than a year to complete. Your support is needed as we organize our pledge drive that will enable us to proceed with construction as planned. You can see from the plans shown in this publication that we are ready with a facility that will fulfill the needs of our school and the parish community.
We have tried to design a building that will fit our budget, while providing a building that we can all be proud of. We have also tried to look to the future and provide a facility that can be improved on as time and money allows. We hope you share in the enthusiasm of the Building Committee as we wind down the design stages of the project and prepare to enter the construction stage.
Just remember, this dream is still up to us, and the sooner you return your pledge card the sooner we can finalize the plans, and start the bidding process and the resulting construction phase. Thanks for your support.
Father John Asks For The Faith & Help Of All Parishioners As We Prepare To Build . . .
Dear Parishioners:
In this edition of the PARISH CENTER UPDATE, you now see what our new building will look like. The Building Committee has been working with the architects a long time and we feel the plans you now see will work well for us. I am excited!! All the details and further information about the Center are in this edition. Enclosed is also a Pledge Card. I really need each and every family at St. Theresa�s to pledge what they can over the next three to five years to help us pay down our debt. Let�s work together to give St. Theresa�s a Center for our present and our future. Thank you!
Sincerely
Father John Connell
Thanks For Doing A Great Job . . .
The parish has done a great job in fulfillment of Pledges, which is shown in the chart above based on information available at the end of February. You can tell that over half of the 301 families that pledged had fulfilled their commitments by between 70 to 100%, with still four months to go on the drive. Our need is to have more families pledge, and now that we have a firm plan there is every reason to believe this is possible. Please join with us and let�s put the Parish Center over the top!
productions for the enjoyment of the whole parish. This stage can serve for many events, and is just another way this new facility can help us grow into the future.
