St. Joseph Parish
Goals & Strategies Report
P1. Need: A “Parish Center” - a multi-use facility with large assembly space, small meeting rooms, kitchen, etc. in close proximity to the church.
P2. Need: An “Office Complex” including at least 6 offices, a copy / work room, conference room, gift shop etc.
P3. Need: Additional parking, including handicapped spaces, with improved traffic flow.
P4. Need: Auxiliary support space including confessionals, chapel, choir room, sacristy, nursery, vestibule, etc.
P5. Need: Maintenance and modernization including but not limited to church basement, roofing system, wiring, air conditioning, etc.
P6. Need: Clergy housing with additional rooms, good security, and upgraded electrical and communications in close proximity to the church.
Notes to the Needs and Priorities Report:
The Parish Facilities Committee determined that sanctuary seating at this time is adequate except for special masses.
The Parish is in need of accurate records / statistics and a long-term master plan.
S1. Need: A Gym which could also serve as a multi-purpose room. (An illustration that detailed the composition of this facility was attached to the Needs Assessment and Priorities Report.)
S2. Need: Science / Computer Lab.
S3. Need: Upgrade existing school building.
S4. Need: Permanent Middle School.
S5. Need: Preschool.
S6. Need: Upgrade or replace existing cafeteria.
II. Strategies to meet the needs identified by the Parish and School Facilities Subcommittees
We present strategies to meet the identified needs in the context of three scenarios (in no particular order):
Scenario A. Renovate Church and School on current site.
Scenario B. Relocate all facilities to new site.
Scenario C. Rebuild Church and School on current site.
Nb: This version of the report excludes cost approximations.
We recommend that St. Joseph strongly consider any opportunities to acquire contiguous property, regardless of the scenario implemented. In the case that St. Joseph remains at the current site, additional space would facilitate meeting current needs (and provide opportunities for growth). If St. Joseph is relocated to a new site, acquisition of key contiguous properties could increase the value of the property.
Needs P5 and S3 – church maintenance and modernization and upgrading the existing school building:
· The needs that comprise normal building maintenance, including a new roof and HVAC for the Church (P5) and upgrading the existing school building (S3) should be met as needed as part of regular maintenance using existing funds designated for those purposes (i.e. Church Improvement Fund and School Capital Repair and Replacement Fund), regardless of the scenario implemented.
· The need for improved wiring for telecommunications in the Church building is obviated by movement of the Parish office out of the current Church building in all scenarios.
· The need for good drainage on the current campus (including at the Church building and on the School field) or on the new campus will be met as part of the overall campus development and site work.
· Needs P5 and S3 are not specifically addressed further in the remainder of this report.
This strategy entails renovation of existing facilities, and construction of a multi-use facility and permanent Middle School. This strategy can be implemented in stages.
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To meet the needs for a Parish Center (P1), School Gym (S1), Parish Office Complex (P2), School Science/Computer Lab (S2), Parish auxiliary support space (P4) and Preschool (S5):
We recommend construction of a multi-use facility that will include: · Large assembly space / gym A full basketball court sized gymnasium space with retractable bleachers to seat 500+ that will also function for large Parish and School events. · Small meeting / class rooms Eight rooms including dedicated science and computer labs, two preschool / nursery classrooms, and classrooms for music / Church choir, art, Spanish and counseling that will also function as small meeting rooms for the Parish. · Offices and work rooms Seven offices (including six for the Parish office and one large partitioned office for the School PE teacher, athletic director and after-school program), a work room, a conference room and a gift shop. · Kitchen For Parish social functions. · Performance stage
Construction of the multi-use facility will meet the highest priority facility needs of both the Church and School, and 6 of the 10 total needs. A logical site for the multi-use facility is the space between the existing Church and Middle School. The vacated Church spaces (primarily offices) will be renovated to accommodate the needed auxiliary support facilities (other than nursery) including chapel, vestibule, confessionals, sacristy, etc. The vacated School trailers will be sold, moved, donated or destroyed. As an alternative to inclusion of the preschool in the multi-use facility, the preschool could be housed in the existing School building vacated by art and EDP. The space reclaimed upon removal of the trailers and art building will be used for the permanent Middle School building and/or parking (see below).
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To meet the need for parking (P3):
We recommend reconfiguration of the parking lots to improve traffic flow and increase parking capacity. Some space could become available with the removal of the School trailers (see above). The reconfiguration should be done in the context of the other changes that will be made to the campus. We also recommend acquisition of contiguous and/or nearby properties as available.
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To meet the need for a permanent Middle School (S4):
We recommend construction of a new permanent 2 class rooms per grade Middle School Building. Potential sites for the Middle School include the space currently occupied by the trailers (since these will be vacated when these classrooms are housed in the new multi-use facility), and the current Middle School location. The Middle School could be attached to the multi-use facility.
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To meet the need for clergy housing (P6):
We recommend acquisition of appropriate contiguous and/or nearby residences to serve as Rectory and Convent. In this case, the vacated rectory space would be renovated for auxiliary support space. Other alternatives include renovation of the existing rectory to add rooms, improve security and telecommunications, and renting suitable facilities.
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To meet the need to upgrade the school cafeteria (S6):
We recommend renovation of the Parish Hall to include removal of the stage, addition of bathrooms and replacement of doors.
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This scenario entails construction of facilities to replace all existing facilities and to add new facilities to meet the identified needs on a new site. Note that depending on the time required for implementation of this scenario, we may wish to implement other recommended strategies on the current site to meet important pressing needs.
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We recommend:
Identification and purchase of approximately 20 acres of suitable land, and sale of the current property. We recommend that the impact of relocation to specific candidate sites on current and future school and church attendance and involvement be carefully studied before purchase (see Potential Growth of St. Joseph Church and School below).
Construction of all Church and School facilities. To facilitate cost approximations, the configuration and composition of the buildings is the same as in Scenario A, however the specific configuration of facilities could be modified under this scenario (e.g. science and computer labs could be within school building rather than multi-use building).
· 425 (to 600) person capacity Church building with sacristy, vestibule, chapel, confessionals, choir room, etc.
· 2 class rooms per grade, K through 8 School with faculty conference room, library with attached audiovisual room, work room, book/stationery room, offices for principal, vice-principal, secretary, administrative assistant, business manager, development director, counselor, and Religious Education, and cafeteria with kitchen.
· Multi-use facility (see specifications above) to include large assembly space / gym, classrooms / small meeting rooms, Parish offices, kitchen and stage.
· Two residential buildings for Rectory and Convent.
· Parking and driveways for approximately 400 cars.
· Maintenance building.
· Playing fields should be developed as part of site work.
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This scenario entails the construction of new Church and School facilities as well as a multi-use facility on the current site. It is similar to Scenario A except that the Church and/or School will be rebuilt rather than simply renovated.
To facilitate cost approximations, the configuration and composition of the buildings is the same as in Scenario A, however the specific configuration of facilities could be modified under this scenario (e.g. science and computer labs could be within school building rather than multi-use building).
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We recommend construction of a multi-use facility (see specifications above) to include large assembly space / gym, classrooms / small meeting rooms, Parish offices, kitchen and stage.
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We recommend construction of new Church facility. 425 (to 600) person capacity church building with sacristy, vestibule, chapel, confessionals, choir room, etc.
The existing Church will be partially (or wholly) demolished. A new Church facility will be constructed either on the location of the current Church or at a different location on the current site. Important elements of the existing Church will be retained and integrated into the new Church building.
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We recommend construction of new School facility. 2 class rooms per grade, K through 8 school with faculty conference room, library with attached audiovisual room, work room, book/stationery room, offices for principal, vice-principal, secretary, administrative assistant, business manager, development director, counselor, and Religious Education, and cafeteria with kitchen.
The existing School will be partially or wholly demolished. A new School facility will be constructed either on the location of the current School or at a different location on the current site.
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We recommend strategies for parking and clergy housing as in Scenario A. |
Potential Growth of St. Joseph Church and School
The Parish and School Facilities Subcommittees did not have access to professional growth projections. Therefore, the recommendations do not presume anything about future growth. We recommend an expert growth study to assess any need for facilities of increased capacity.
Capacity and use of current Church facility: The Parish Facilities Subcommittee undertook a survey of mass attendance and parking lot usage for a period of 4 weeks from April 24 to May 16. This data (as well as some more recent data) is attached (see Attachment B). The masses surveyed included 5 First Communion masses. The maximum mass attendance (excluding First communion masses) was 365. The average attendance during this 4 week period (excluding First Communion masses) was 253. These numbers are below both the maximum capacity of the sanctuary (475) and our estimated practical seating capacity (425). The maximum car count (excluding First Communion masses) was 206. The average car count during this 4 week period (excluding First communion masses) was 140. Our current parking capacity is 241 including neighboring areas (Century 21, etc.) and 147 excluding neighboring areas (St. Joseph lots alone). The survey was suspended during the summer due to the expected seasonal drop in attendance and has resumed to a limited extent this Fall. We recommend continuation of collection of mass counts due to the importance of this data as both an accurate view of current facility use and also an accurate baseline from which to project future growth and need.
In the case that facilities of increased capacity are found to be necessary in the future, options for expansion of the capacity of the Church and School are noted in attached blocks in Scenario A. Similarly, options for expansion of the capacity of the School (to 3 classes per grade) are noted in attached blocks in Scenarios B and C. The cost of construction of a new Church building of increased capacity (e.g. 600) would not be significantly more (at our level of approximation) than a Church of current capacity (e.g. 425), therefore we have indicated a new Church of 425 to 600 person capacity in Scenarios B and C.
Growth of either the Church or School on the current site would likely require acquisition of contiguous property to accommodate, for example, increased traffic, need for playing fields, etc.
We recommend that the impact of relocation to specific candidate sites on future school and church enrollment/attendance and involvement be studied before implementation of Scenario B.
The members of the Parish and School Subcommittees would like to thank Father McGuiness for his guidance and input throughout the process, and the parish ushers and Lighthouse for assistance with mass and parking surveys. We would also like to acknowledge our families for the sacrifices that enabled us to work on this important project.
