New center will incorporate elements of the old school

>> Continued from page 3 shared memories of attending the school from fourth to sixth grade.

“Today, we are celebrating and we are also mourning,” said Father Ashmore. “We are mourning the loss of a precious building. We’re mourning the loss of something that was integral to our community. But we’re celebrating the fact that our community lives on. Our community of St. Joseph is not restricted to one building that for so long helped to identify us. St. Joseph is stronger than any one building.”

“So today, we are celebrating,” he continued. “We’re celebrating with a certain sadness that comes with saying goodbye to something. But we’re also celebrating the fact that we are walking on to something together, something more marvelous than we can imagine.”

The building has “good bones,” Father Ashmore said at the auction. Structurally it is sound, but it is an aging, worn building with lots of problems.

It has no HVAC system, he said. The plumbing, wiring and windows would have had to be replaced. The building is not handicap accessible and the former teaching Sisters’ residence at the back of the school, which was damaged by a fire in 1969, had never been repaired.

Just to do the bare minimum for the building would have cost more than

$5 million. And even if it could be totally refurbished, it could never meet the needs of a modern Catholic school, even if the student population existed. After much consultation with parishioners, a committee was formed to review options for the parish, said Father Ashmore. The overwhelming consensus was that the old school was a financial drain and no longer met the needs of the parish. A new building was needed.

The nearly $2 million one-story parish life center will be a 6,670-squarefoot building on the site of the school. Parts of the old school entrance and facade will be salvaged and used for the new building’s entrance.

The square building will have a gray, wood exterior with some brickwork in front and peaked roof. The main hall, which will accommodate table seating for 96 people, will have exposed wooden beams. There will be five 8-10 person study rooms, two 15-30 person study rooms, a quilt/study room, restrooms, a kitchen, storage space, a parish administration office and a pastor’s office.

A roofed pavilion attached to the back of the building is planned for a later date.

The general contractor is BHS Construction of Manhattan, and the architect is HTK Architects of Topeka. The target completion date is spring 2024.