Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / St. Mary Catholic Central continues expansion project
St. Mary Catholic Central continues expansion project
Published May 1, 2009
DETROIT - One local high school is getting new rooms, a new kitchen and an elevator as part of a long-term renovation plan - no small feat when some Catholic schools are struggling with enrollment.
St. Mary Catholic Central High School Monroe, is beginning the next phase of its facility construction and renovation plan. A ground breaking blessing and open house will be held Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m., on the front lawn of the school. The event is open to the public.
The renovation will add a multi-purpose room, a full-service kitchen, a special events room, a large classroom to accommodate the growing music program, and an elevator on the southwest side of the school's campus. The school will also convert existing space to create a new media center and establish a school chapel, the Chapel of the Infant of Prague.
This project is the third and largest phase of the addition and renovation program of the school, which has 422 students.
In the fall of 2007, portable classrooms were removed from the school's front lawn and two new classrooms were built on the east end of the building.
The second phase was completed in the summer of 2008 with the complete remodeling of the school's three science classrooms, conversion of a space into a temporary home for the music program, new ceiling and lighting in the main corridor, fresh paint and refinishing of all woodwork and doors in the first floor hallway. Several administrative offices were also relocated, and security systems have been upgraded that now limit access and provide locked and monitored entrance during the school day.
Funding for the project is from the "Soaring on the Wings of Tradition" capital campaign.
"We are attempting to meet several educational and facility needs, while honoring the intent of the donors who generously gave these funds nearly a decade ago," said St. Mary president Sean Jorgensen.
The project was originally a $5.5 million addition, and was scaled back to $2 million.
The expanded media center "comes at a critical time" for the high school, Jorgensen said: "We've greatly expanded our technology resources in recent years. This new center will enable us to expand our course offerings through dual enrollment options and online learning opportunities, as well as provide our students and teachers with the most up-to-date teaching and learning tools."
|
