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Construction Updates
(January 2008))
I was asked to provide a brief construction update on the new church, administration building and the remodeling of the existing church. You will recall that Archbishop Flynn approved the project in May, 2007. We broke ground on the new facilities on June 1, 2007; with many parishioners in attendance. Some site work and demolition of the rectory and offices started in mid June of 2007. By September 2007, the footings and foundation walls of the new church were poured. In October, we saw the erection of the structural steel for the new sanctuary. During this time the floor in the existing church was removed, to facilitate constructing a new floor that was lowered by four feet. New supporting steel was set for the new floor, and the metal decking was installed to accommodate the new concrete floor. The east side of the existing church was removed to accommodate the new administration building and the entrance to the gathering space.
In November, the beautiful new interior wood roof beams were installed along with most of the interior wood ceiling. Before the ceiling was closed up, four marble columns weighing over 6,000 lbs. each were lifted through the roof and installed around the altar space at the south end of the new church. These columns are part of and support the beautiful baldichino. During this same period the exterior wall and roof framing, insulation and vapor barrier were installed. You can also see the window openings are ready to accept the stained glass windows Father Griffith located in Boston. The administration building is framed and enclosed. Even with the rain delays and other predictable delays the church will be ready for dedication in September 2008.
By the time you read this article the laying of the stone and brick on the exterior of the church and offices should be underway. Specifically, you will be able to see the brick and stone already laid on the east side of the church. You will see that the new brick and Fr. Albert Byrne’s Mankato stone are a beautiful combination.
In my humble opinion it will be an exceptional and beautiful sacred worship space that is an inspired blend of the old traditional and the new. You can all be very proud of the sacrifices you made to make this a reality. We are all indebted to Father Griffith for his hands on guidance of this project and for the location and selection of the wonderful liturgical elements incorporated into our church. We are also very fortunate to have Jerry Anderley, parishioner and Vice President at the University of St. Thomas, who has been the owner’s representative on this project. His experience and expertise have been invaluable to the parish.
If you have any questions over the course of the construction, please feel free to call Father Griffith, Greg Hereford, Jerry Anderley or Frank Wood. It is our intention to provide another construction update on or before Easter.
Frank W. Wood
Chair-Building Advisory Committee
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