Old St. Mary's Church Breaks Ground on New Parish Center

Old St. Mary's Church (1500 S. Michigan) just officially broke ground on their new Parish center (aka Phase III) according to their Facebook page.

We also found some information on the project for those of you who are interested:

Phase III is a 17,000 square foot Parish Center that will house some Parish offices closer to the front Michigan Avenue entrance, have multiple meeting/classroom spaces, and a gymnasium/social hall with a retractable performance stage. The project is estimated to cost $3.4 million. This cost includes demolition, construction, and facility equipment. If important milestones and fundraising deadlines are met, we hope to open the doors to the Parish Center in Fall 2014.

If you're not familiar with the church and how it's grown, the website also gives some other information:

Old St. Mary’s move to its current location in the South Loop has occurred in phases. In 2002 – in Phase I- we built our beautiful new church. Then, in Fall 2004, we welcomed 18 preschool students into our “new” school that was housed in a 100 year-old revamped furniture warehouse adjacent to our Parish offices.  

Our strategic plan prioritized the building of a new school in Phase II. In 2011, a brand-new Old St. Mary’s School opened with more than 200 students. With the start of the 2013 school year, there are over 350 students enrolled in preschool through 8th grade.  

In 2013, the third phase of the strategic plan began to take shape – completing the vision with a Parish Center. Phase III marks an important step for the Old St. Mary’s community as there is a pressing need to respond to the continuing rapid growth of the parish and school.

Good luck to them and thanks for enriching the neighborhood.