Adam Bramburger
Editor
The grassy church yard behind St. Patrick’s Catholic Church has given way to a mix of stone and metal as work is under way on a $1.5-million parish hall addition project.
Rev. Marek Chochrek said it was quite a process getting to the point where contractor Wemp & Smith broke ground for the 4,1000-square-foot construction a day after Thanksgiving.
“They didn’t have a gathering place,” Chochrek said of his parishioners. In the 1940s, a parish hall built on the north side of Thomas Street was torn down as it fell into disrepair. During the 1970s, when the rectory house was built south of the 1856 limestone church, a decision was made to use its basement as a hall, but for several reasons that wasn’t ideal.
It’s not a great place. There’s a couple different obstacles,” he said. “One of them is that it’s downstairs. The parishioners are getting older, and some have a problem with walking downstairs. It’s also not wheelchair accessible.”
According to the priest, during the 1980s, a past rector, Rev. Don Cummings, led considerable discussions about expanding the church and introduced projects that ranged from rebuilding the church to tearing it down to start over. Some controversy stirred and nothing changed. That discussion was reborn when Chochrek arrived.
“I came here five years ago and they did approach me about it,” he said. “A few years ago, I did some surveys and made a suggestion that maybe we can put the parish hall back in the church.”
A building committee was formed at that time and they began to seriously consider their options. Five architectural firms in Kingston were consulted and four replied with concepts. The committee preferred the work of Shoalts and Zaback because it was able to incorporate the old style of the existing church into its design.
“After a year of discussions, we decided to go ahead with that project,” Chochrek said.
He said the committee decided the project was necessary to improve the social aspects of the parish. An accessible hall, they reasoned, could host groups like the Catholic Women’s League, Knights of Columbus, and altar servers. It could also provide a welcoming area and a chance for coffees and socializing around masses to allow people to meet for fellowship.
What the hall isn’t expected to be is a venue for event bookings.
“We are not going to be in the rental business at all,” Chochrek said. “It was more for the parish. We will have some funerals, receptions, and small family gatherings.”
The main hall will include room for about 100 guests seated for dinner. There will also be a board room that will seat about 20 people and two offices that are currently located in the rectory. Wheelchair access and accessible washrooms for the church will be moved to the new addition, which is designed to just touch the existing church and complement it.
The entranceway will face Thomas Street, where new accessible parking will be located on the same side of the street as the church itself. A glass area near the entrance will allow visitors to look through to a courtyard area being planned near the existing side entrance at the church and the basement hall entrance, which will be removed. The rectory basement will likely be transformed into archives and a storage area.
The building is expected to be completed by the end of March. Landscaping and exterior features will be done by the end of May.
Asked about financing the project, Chochrek said the church does have savings, but it has to think about keeping money for the future. Of the $1.5 million, he said the hope is $300,000 will be raised through fundraising efforts. An announcement likely come next month about events. Parish dinners and a donor wall are among the initiatives being considered.
Chochrek said the parish has remained stable over the past five years with between 300 and 450 people attending the three masses each weekend. There’s some hope the hall may draw new people to the church and help others become more involved.
“It might draw,” he said. “I can see some of the elder people who have a problem walking or who have a wheelchair. They don’t come for the activities we have… Maybe there’s going to be some attraction.”