Order of Construction

Although improvements to the church emerged as the parish’s top priority for improvement, the feasibility study revealed that the church would need to be closed during that construction activity – due to safety regulations requiring adequate fire exits.

As a result, St. Joe’s chose to begin Phase I of the Master Plan by building a new Parish Center. When complete, this new facility would provide suitable “alternate” space for worship, so that construction could then proceed on the church enhancements in Phase II.

(Note: The feasibility study also looked at using the existing gym/multipurpose room for worship space during construction, but this turned out not to be a viable option. It’s simply impossible to use the current gym for both worship and school-related activities on a regular basis, because the altar and seating would have to be set up and torn down daily – or even multiple times per day – to accommodate daily Masses and funerals, along with a regular schedule of physical education, assemblies, and other school activities.)