Construction Updates 

August 17, 2011 

May 8, 2011

Construction continues on a remarkable rate. The classroom building is getting the last of the drywall installed and they are hanging the gridwork for the ceiling tiles. Much of the electrical and computer wiring is run so final connections may be made in the future. Almost all of the

tiling in bathrooms is completed and they hope to begin tiling the kitchen soon. They have run the HVAC system to help dry out the building…this is necessary so they can complete the flooring systems at the appropriate time. Soon, they will begin to install plumbing fixtures and even some of the cabinets on the lower level. They intend to complete (mostly) one level at a time and then move up a floor over the next eight weeks.

The church addition is receiving the last of the bricks as I write this column and they are placing the steel deck for the roof.  The Parish Council, accepting recommendations from the children of the parish, has approved the “classroom saints.” Last fall, we invited each class of students (both

PSR and Elementary schools) to submit a suggestion for saints to honor. We have the following list finalized:

Primary Classrooms:

#133 St. Michael the Archangel

#132 St. Bernadette

#135 St. Nicholas

#128 St. Joseph

#129 St. Agnes

#127 St. Elizabeth, the Mother of John the Baptist

#126 St. John Bosco

Intermediate Grades (Third – Fifth):

#310 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

#302 St. Damien of Molokai (Jozef de Veuster)

#303 Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

#304 St. John Neumann

#305 Blessed Junipero Serra

#306 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Middle School (Sixth – Eighth):

#211 St. Maria Goretti

#212 St. Maximilian Kolbe

#217 St. Albert the Great

#216 St. Joan of Arc

#214 St. Paul

#213 St. Catherine of Siena

April 17, 2011

The buildings continue to progress towards completion. As you can see, the brickwork on the larger addition is generally completed. They hope to begin working on the area immediately around the building – concrete work, storm sewers, curbs, etc. Additionally the heating/air

conditioning units are being connected and electricity has been attached to the building. Much of the dry wall on the lower level is completed and continues on the upper floors. The elevator is the next “big” item and they hope to have that completed around April 18. With the windows being installed and the flashing on the roof completed, the building will be “enclosed.”

As for the church addition, the changes are evident with the cement block and bricks in place and the structural steel on the way. On the financial side, we have begun drawing on the loan. This was anticipated and we will draw on it to complete the buildings. To that point, any donations received will be applied to the building directly and will help to defray the total loan amount. Thanks for anything you can do and for what you will do as we proceed with this project.

March 6, 2011

With so much ground torn up and everyone being inconvenienced, this is a good time to remember what we will have when the construction is completed. When the new classroom section is completed in July, we will have 13 larger and improved classrooms for grades 3 – 8 with a classroom for Spanish and new Science Lab. While the primary classes will be in existing spaces, they will have improved instructional areas as well including “Center City” allowing additional educational opportunities for Kindergarten and Grades 1 & 2. The school offices will be expanded and updated. Along with the Principal’s office, the School Counselor will have a dedicated
office as well. The nurse’s room will be larger and have its own lavatory. The cafeteria will be larger and a fully furnished kitchen will be available for parish and school events. 

The new gathering area for the church (completion date in mid-August) will allow more parishioners to visit before and after Masses inside.  The Adoration Chapel will be larger allowing for a class of students to make visits to the chapel during the school day and PSR class time. Its location closer to the church will also increase the awareness of this special prayer chapel inviting more people to pray before our Eucharistic Lord.

The “old church” will be completely dedicated to parish meeting space (mid-late August). Five classroom-sized meeting rooms will be available for daytime and evening meetings. In addition, a smaller “boardroom” and parish library will be available for parish use. The present nurse’s office will become a small kitchenette with ice machine, sink, dishwasher and refrigerator available to the those using  the meeting rooms. 

The Gold Room and old garage will be the last to be completed (late October). When finished, it will be a new Library, Computer Lab, and Music Room…all with larger storage rooms. There will also be offices for our Learning Consultant and Resource Teacher.  In the end, we will have improved and increased the number of parish meeting rooms and classrooms. The cafeteria will be greatly improved with the addition of a “working” kitchen.

The parish community will be better served with a larger gathering area connected to the church and a more accessible Adoration Chapel. We will be able to offer “fullday” Kindergarten classes and enhance the educational program with improved classrooms for all students of the parish.  Every classroom will have a “SmartBoard” and all the teachers in the elementary school have been trained in their use. All the “specialties” have enhanced educational areas as well (Spanish, Science, Art, Computers, Library, Music, Physical Education). Finally, additional space is still available for a proposed Pre-School. 

I hope this information helps as we climb up stairs or around the mud as we gather for Mass each weekend. While still
several months out, the end is in sight.

January 16, 2011

With the addition of the bricks over the next several weeks, they are installing the ducts for the HVAC system as well as the interior steel studs for the walls and running liens for electricity and plumbing. All this helps to give the building some real sense of size and how it will be used. Once the roof  is completed, they can begin to install plasterboard and more.  Some have asked about all the excavation along the west side of the church – water pipes. We needed to run a new water line from the street to the building and this precipitated a lot of digging and laying of pipes. Once the pipes are attached at the building and they can inspect some of the connections, they will be able to bury the lines…until then, we have a lot of dirt piles around the church.

The planning for the new church gathering area continues. The intention is to fence off the east side of the church later this month and then begin excavating the area. Again, we will temporarily be unable to park right in front of the church during construction. Additionally, we will have to use the other entrances to the church during this time as well. A temporary asphalt path will lead from the church door to the sidewalk to provide an accessible entrance. When they actually start is dependent on the completion of the steel fabrication. They plan the schedule in such a way that there is very little “down time” on the construction site.

January 1, 2011

With 2011 comes preparations for the addition to the church, a long awaited portion of our construction project.  As present plans stand, the orange fencing will go up around the construction area near the church around January 19th.  This will include the first row of parking spaces along the front of the church.  A temporary asphalt walking path will lead to the single door by the inside statue of St. Gerard for “accessible” access.  The doors by the steps to the church will also remain open.  I know this will be generally inconvenient, but it was the only solution to providing access to the church during construction.  We will operate with these constraints for some time.  When they begin to work on the parking lot closest to the church, that will force us to move Masses into the gym for a few weekends…more on that when we get closer to that date later this spring. 

As for the classroom/cafeteria building, after a futile wait for warmer weather, they decided to take extreme measures and temporarily heat the middle floor of the building.  This warmed the upper floor’s deck and allowed them to pour the concrete floor. They have to maintain an “above freezing” temperature of the upper floor’s deck while the concrete cures over the next week.  Once this is accomplished, they will continue erecting the interior stud-walls and hanging more ductwork. Also, bricks will begin to appear on the exterior walls.

Finally, over the Christmas break, crews were removing portions of ceilings in a couple of utility rooms in the upper floor of the old building.  We needed to evaluate the roof structure of the old building and the engineers wanted to actually see what it looked like (the old blueprints have not always been accurate).  This will help them determine how to place roof-top heating/air conditioning units for the upper floor’s HVAC system.

November 28, 2010

Progress continues on the new building. The middle floor has been laid and they are hoping to pour the third floor soon. Next is roofing and studs for walls. Later in December they intend to begin the brickwork, a sample of which is leaning against the school building near the entrance. Additionally, the retaining wall along the field is 80% complete with the remaining section having to wait until we have more of the sewer lines finished.

Updates on the new gathering area off the church and Adoration Chapel construction:  The work on this area will begin shortly after New Year’s Day.  With this comes some inconvenience for us all so your patience and good humor will be greatly appreciated.  When work begins, they will close the eastern doors of the church leaving northern doors (across from the school) as the main access.  A temporary paved path will also be put down leading to the southern door next to the interior statue of St. Gerard…this will allow access for those who struggle with stairs – it will be a flat path into the church.  Unfortunately, they will also have to enclose the row of parking closest to the church for safety and construction work. We will designate some spots as parking for the disabled on the opposite row during this time of construction.  Additionally (and to prepare you for more inconvenience) from mid-March to mid-April, they will have to close the entire parking area by the church building for new sewer pipes and re-paving. During some of this time, we may have to move the weekend Masses into the gym. The larger lot will remain open throughout construction.

The completion dates for the projects are:
Classroom/Cafeteria Addition – July 5, 2011
Renovation of Upper Floor of Old Building – August 1, 2011
Gathering Area and Adoration Chapel – August 18, 2011
Renovation of Lower Floor of Old Building (Gold Room) – November 1, 2011
Finally, Save the Date – August 28, 2011 – for the Dedication of new construction.
 

October 10, 2010

As you can see, the south concrete wall of the new addition is almost completed. The hope is that this coming week will see the pouring of the lower level floor. Once this is completed and given time to cure, the structural steel will begin to arrive and the frame of the new building will go up. Some real changes should start to show in the next month or so.

As for the new gathering space on the church, the actual construction of that will begin sometime after the start of the new year. Since they have to order the steel components (and that will take some time to fabricate) they have decided to wait until after January to excavate and pour the foundations. This will also allow them to get past the worst of the winter before trying to lay concrete in that area. The finish date, however, remains the same…sometime in late July.

Again, none of this is possible without the generous donations from you, the parishioners of St. Gerard Majella. If you have not yet made a pledge or gift to the capital campaign, we really could use your support. Please call the parish office with any questions or for a pledge form.