St. Thérèse of Carmel

 

Multi-Purpose Hall Discussion

 

March 2008

 

Overview:

St. Thérèse of Carmel is in final planning of the third and final phase of our approved 72,300 SF three- building campus planned for our Del Mar Trails property. The pad located north of the new church has been designated for a multi-purpose hall facility. This new building represents, in Fr. Nick’s words, “our final chance to address the future ministry needs of our parish and school.” The following FAQ’s are meant to address an overview of the project as defined by the committee of parishioners and school trustees.

 

Q: What is being planned for the site?  

A: A truly multi-purpose facility combining the many uses of our ministries and groups, satisfying the needs of parish and school communities that cannot currently be addressed by the facilities on our campus:

  • Day Chapel with seating for up to 144, which will also serve as a lecture hall.
  • Great multi-purpose room that will provide several functions including dinner dances, wedding receptions, student assemblies, performances for parish and school, including a stage area, the ability for our parish and school to use the area for basketball, volleyball, and other court sports that can be played indoors.
  • Parish Administration areas including work rooms and offices (11) for our parish administration needs.
  • Faith Formation space that could accommodate as many as 400 students at one time, including a Teen Center.
  • Lower level storage area (3,300 SF) to alleviate the need for off-site storage rental.
  • Commercial kitchen space of 900 SF/ to support functions including parish social gatherings (i.e. St. Patrick’s Day), wedding receptions, special events of all types.

 

Q: What will be the size of the building? 

A: As presently designed, the building will have approximately 24,000 SF of space. This space will allow us, if approved by the City, to utilize the balance of space committed by the City when we obtained the original approval of building plans for our campus. The building will essentially fit within the original envelope designed for the pad five years ago, and will conform to height requirements previously approved.

 

Q: Where are we in the process? 

A: Last Fall a selection committee was formed as a cross-section of the parish and school participants. Each member was a stakeholder in an aspect of parish and school life. Their goal was to plan for the various uses of the space. That committee worked with an architectural firm (Dominy & Associates) to plan the space. After several revisions, we’re pleased to say that a plan has been approved that will allow our representatives to present the plan to the City for approval under a pre-approved standard of Substantial Conformance Review (SCR). Our representatives include a professional retained by the parish to represent us all aspects of construction administration, our architect, and a land use attorney that helped in our original site plan approval. At this point, we’re in a position to present our plans to the City to show them that we’ve complied with our original plans and are in SCR.

 

Q: What is the timing involved? 

A: We’d be less than honest if we told you that we knew for sure. We’re really unable to move further at this point without an approval of the site plan that we’ve provided to the City. It is likely that drawings and bidding will consume our efforts for the next four months, with final City and Diocesan approvals another three months, and construction will likely take at least another twelve months. With a timeline such as this, we plan to provide the parish community and school families with more detailed project plans (and models) during the second quarter of this year.

 

Q: What will be the project cost? 

A: When we know, we’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, efforts are being made to contain costs at every turn while we design a project that will satisfy the needs of the St. Thérèse of Carmel community in a first class manner. (If one had to guess, think $300/SF as an early estimate.)

 

Q: What’s next? 

A: While we are waiting for approvals allowing us to commit to the next level of design, we will work with the St. Thérèse of Carmel community to bring an understanding of the project to all.