St Andrew Building Addition

Dear Parishioners,

I am happy to share with you the progress that is being made with our building addition. As a parish, we have waited a long time to see this addition come to fruition. I am pleased to share that the time is now!

Design plans are finished and over the coming weeks we will be receiving bids from contractors to obtain a confirmed price to complete this project. There have been some hurdles that we have had to overcome, and the process has taken longer than we anticipated. However, with the feedback we have received from parishioners and members of parish leadership, we believe that we have a design that will meet many of the needs of our parish at this time and into the future.

It was a priority for the parish to have space all under one roof to not only worship together, but a gathering space for events and community building, additional meeting rooms to accommodate our many ministries’ needs, along with additional storage, restrooms, and a space for Eucharistic adoration.

This newsletter will give you additional information as to what our new addition will look like, the benefits that our parishioners will receive from this added space, and how we need everyone’s support to make this longtime vision a reality.

Over the coming weeks, additional information will be provided at Mass, on our website and through our social media platforms to keep you updated and to address any questions you may have.

I ask that you pray for the success of this building project and discern how you can help to make Building Community, Building Faith a reality here at St. Andrew.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Msgr. Mike

 

 Usage & Benefits

This addition will service the needs for our parishioners, build our parish community and ensure the proper foundation for future generations.

Specifically, we will be creating:

*Gathering Space for after mass gatherings, meetings, weddings, funerals (including in-states), guest speakers, Easter mission, coffee and donuts, conferences, educational programs, guest speakers, hospitality, etc.

• Accommodates 660 people standing, 470 people seated in chairs, or 220 people seated at tables
• Gathering Space will also be used for additional mass space for Easter and Christmas, instead of using the Activities Building

* Large Conference Room – Sliding wall can be opened to Gathering Space, when needed for larger events

* Two Small Conference Rooms

* East Vestibule will allow small gatherings before and after masses; space to use prior to wedding ceremonies; will create double set of doors into church, keeping cold air out of the church in winter months.

Additionally, we can look forward to:

* Better and increased lighting in the parking lots

* Covered entryways – two full car canopies on North and South sides of Gathering Space entryways as well as a half car canopy at the East vestibule

* Additional restrooms in the Gathering Space, including a family restroom, as well as new restrooms in the East vestibule

* The number of current parking spaces remains the same

What will it cost & how are we funding this addition?

* Estimate is $4.5 – $5 million

* $1.5 million in savings currently designated for the addition

* We will utilize the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) annual campaign as the vehicle to fundraise for our building addition as well as to meet our annual assigned CSA goal to the Archdiocese

• This is the most cost effective way to raise funds for the building addition

* The remaining amount not raised from parishioner donations this year will be borrowed as a loan from the Archdiocese of Detroit

• The more we raise during this year’s CSA campaign, the smaller our loan

We plan to break ground in summer of 2018 or sooner!