From the Ground Up: St. Joseph Catholic School

Owner/developer: St. Joseph Catholic Church

General contractor: Wirt-Flavin Construction Co.

Architect: Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc.

Engineers: Deka Engineering LLC, civil; Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., structural; Colvin Jones Davis LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing

Size: 9,500 square feet

Estimated cost: $1.4 million

Lender: None

Estimated completion date: April 2010

Project description: St. Joseph church is adding a parish hall to its north Springfield campus. The hall, which will double as a gymnasium for the parish's school, includes a commercial kitchen, education space and a chapel. Project manager Tim Flavin said the chapel will feature stained glass made by parishioners and concrete blocks the church held in storage since its original construction in 1905-06. "I can't believe they're still around," Flavin said of the 2-feet-wide, 1-foot-deep and 1.5-foot-tall blocks that were cast by hand on the church grounds. "I don't know how they're going to move them. They're big." Church officials have said financial reserves, donations and at least $750,000 from parishioners will fund the project.

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