Our efforts to construct a permanent home for St. Katharine Drexel are moving along quite well this fall. Our meeting with the Diocese of Arlington Building Commission is scheduled for October 28 to gain conceptual approval of our approach, financing, and other aspects.
On December 8, 2019, we plan to hold a get-together between the Masses to provide you with an overview of the latest plans. Refreshments will be available. Please mark it on your calendars.
September 2019: An important update from the St. Katharine Drexel Building Committee.
The SKD Building Committee has been busy since June 2019 preparing the information needed by the Diocesan Building Commission to gain approval to proceed to the next steps of our project (e.g., design and construction). Since June, we’ve prepared a detailed financial analysis to demonstrate feasibility and our ability to pay for, own, maintain, and operate our new church building. We assembled all the necessary supporting studies and documentation as required by the Diocese.
What is the Diocesan Building Commission?
The Diocesan Building Commission is comprised of clergy, management, and external experts in real estate, architecture, construction and finance. The Commission was established to ensure projects are appropriately formulated and vetted prior to undertaking significant financial obligations and initiating costly design and construction.
The Diocese supports our need to have a permanent, spiritual home for St. Katharine Drexel to ensure that we provide for the spiritual needs of our current parishioners and minister to new Catholics, all by spreading the Word of Christ. Diocesan representatives lauded the significant support and efforts St. Katharine Drexel’s parishioners have undertaken – both financial and through community formation. This assessment is underscored by the investment the Diocese has already made in acquiring the land ($1.5M) and the support (financial and professional) the Diocese provided in securing the Special Use Permit from Prince William County.
Next Step: Diocesan Building Commission Review
We will be continuing our collaborative work with the Diocese in October to develop a path to build our church in a timely manner and within the appropriate financial parameters.
To that end, we are pleased to announce that the Diocesan Building Commission will formally evaluate our plan approach in their next meeting on October 21, 2019.
The purpose of this meeting is to come to an agreement on the basic financing approach and underlying assumptions and projections. Upon approval from the Diocesan Building Commission, we can then solicit proposals from and interview Design/Build firms, select a firm, refine our concept, start preliminary design, and other activities.
Your Support Makes This Possible
The most important factor that enabled us to get to this point is the incredible financial and spiritual support the dedicated parishioners of St. Katharine Drexel Mission have provided. We appreciate all you do and trust you will continue to support the building of our church through the fulfillment of your Capital Campaign pledge.
Are you new to St. Katharine Drexel Mission or haven’t yet made a financial commitment? Join our community in supporting the SKD Capital Campaign. We are currently at 94% of our campaign goal and we truly need your help to make it the rest of the way. Together, we can Build Our Church!
In Christ,
David O’Flynn
Building Committee Chairman
P.S. – The SKD Building Committee is planning an event this fall to share further details and visual designs. Details will be provided in the coming weeks.
Progress continues in our efforts to build a new church home for St. Katharine Drexel parishioners. Based on the positive response we received from our fall Capital Campaign (reaching 94% of our campaign goal), this spring was spent moving our church building project forward!
March 2019
The building committee initiated development of the general “architectural program” for the church along with potential floor plans. The architectural program outlines the overall requirements for the number of seats and types of support spaces we need within the constraints of budget and overall footprint/size stipulated by the county’s Special Use Permit.
April 2019
Preliminary floor plans were developed to accommodate at least 350 people, plus provide office and limited meeting space, along with confessionals, cry room, and other spaces. We hope to complete the architectural program, floor plan, and elevations by June. Those items will be used as inputs to the preliminary design.
Site design activities continued through our civil engineering firm, Ross-France. Various soil and hydrology (e.g., water well capacity) investigations were performed along with fire protection and site utility engineering required by the county. By late summer, we are hoping to receive approval on the site development permit, submitted to Prince William County in November 2018.
Summer 2019
The building committee intends to start the selection process this summer to identify a design and construction team to prepare the preliminary design. We anticipate selecting a team by early fall. The result of the preliminary design will be a more detailed plan and refined cost estimate needed to evaluate financing and affordability for our $6M budget.
Apart from design activities, we also entered into discussions with the Diocese about financing our project (i.e., obtaining a mortgage). Those discussions will give us parameters as to what debt we can afford and will be used to help us finalize our design and construction approach. In a project like this, it is normal for design and financing activities to occur in parallel to inform affordability and features of our church.
How you can help us continue moving forward
We are pleased to report that we are making steady progress. This project will only happen, however, if we all continue to fulfill our pledges. If you have not participated in the Capital Campaign, we urge you to do so. We would very much appreciate your support in helping us make a new church home for the St. Katharine Drexel parish community.
David O’Flynn
Chairman, Building Committee
The parishioners of St. Katharine Drexel Mission are moving forward on our shared goal of building a permanent home for our Catholic Community. Please read our 2018 Annual Building Committee Update for important and exciting news!
