ST. JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLI CHURCH
MASTER PLAN

MARCH 2008

Hoja Informativa del Plan Maestro en Español

 

Our architect, Paul Lodholz, will make a Master Plan presentation on Thursday, March 13, at 7:30PM in the Audiovisual Room in Building D. Paul and members of the Master Plan Steering Committee will be available to answer questions during and after the presentation. We hope you will be able to join us.

 What is a Master Plan?
A Master Plan is a tool for anticipating and planning for the long range growth and needs of the parish. Generally, it provides no real architectural details beyond a general look of what might be the appearance and arrangement of the buildings. It is a vision of what the parish campus could look like 15 to 20 years from now based on the input of the parishioners, parish staff, and an architect. The Plan is designed to be flexible. Each building in the plan is independent from the others and can be constructed separately. The Plan is not a commitment to build. Each phase of construction will be separately evaluated as to need and cost.

(click images for a larger view)

Master Plan First Floor Image

Master Plan Second Floor Image

What is the benefit of a Master Plan?
We believe a Master Plan provides us with the best answer in the short term and the long term rather than addressing needs as they arise on a piecemeal basis.  The plan process provided us with a format and discipline to more clearly identify the anticipated needs of the parish over the next two decades. It prompted each of the ministries to refine their strategic plans and it prompted us to formally survey the parishioners as to their thoughts and wishes on our physical plant. The Plan gives us a blueprint for future development, while being flexible enough to adjust to changing conditions. It will allow us to react more quickly to the parish’s needs. Finally, it provides a uniform design concept for the entire parish campus.

What caused us to develop a Master Plan?
The decision to develop a Master Plan was based on the recommendations of a parishioner study group established by Father Morfin to evaluate the adequacy of our facilities in light of continued parish growth and limitations on our various ministries caused by a shortage of space. The St. John Vianney parish community and its surrounding neighborhoods are expected to continue to grow with the creation of jobs in the nearby energy corridor and with the construction of new offices and housing. We have already surpassed the projected 2018 parishioner population that was used in our June, 1999 Church Expansion Study.

The Study Group’s conclusions and recommendations included the following:
- St. John Vianney has outgrown its original infrastructure that was built in 1966 for a parish with a population of approximately 600 families. Today, we are slightly over 7,100 families.
- Some of the existing buildings are outdated as to current city codes and the buildings and drainage are in need constant repair.
- The existing facilities are not suitable for expansion due to the condition of the structures and space restraints.
- New and improved facilities are badly needed to support the ongoing activities and operation of our ministries.
- The requirements for additional buildings should be defined in a Master Plan after a comprehensive evaluation of our parish needs as a whole.
- The Master Plan should provide for an efficient integration of the existing facilities with the new buildings to accommodate our current and future needs.        

What is in the Master Plan?
The Plan envisions that all the buildings on the campus other than the Church, the Ars Chapel, the Adoration Chapel, the Activity Center and possibly the maintenance building will eventually be replaced by new buildings over a period of up to 20 years. More specifically, it provides for a new:
-  Rectory - with accommodations for our assigned priests and retired priests who can assist in ministering to the parish.
-  Social Ministry Building - for the Social Ministry offices, Joseph’s Coat, the Food Pantry and the Credit Union.
-  Small Assembly Hall and meeting/classrooms – a two story building close to the church that will include an assembly hall on the first floor capable of seating 350 people at tables; with meeting/classrooms on the second floor.
-  Parish Offices - a two story building for the majority of the parish offices and some additional meeting/classrooms
-  CCE Building - a two story building that will include the CCE offices, nursery, and child classrooms on the first floor and meeting/classrooms on the second floor.
-  Choir practice/meeting room.
-  Large Assembly Hall - capable of seating 700 people at tables
 - Other: the plan makes provision for improved security, restroom facilities, kitchens, additional parking, a covered drop off and handicapped access, gardens and other improvements. It also includes the eventual conversion of the Activity Center to a youth center.

What is the size of each building?
We do not have exact sizes for each building. These will be determined during Schematic Design for each building as the need for construction arises. For purposes of the Master Plan, we have assumed a total of approximately 140,000 to 150,000 sq. ft. of new construction.       

Why can’t we just add a second floor to the existing buildings?
The original design and construction of our existing buildings do not allow us to add a second floor.

What is the timetable for implementing the Master Plan?
We do not have a specific timetable for the entire plan. The Plan is designed to allow us to construct each building separately over time. Our present expectation is that the entire plan may not be implemented for up to 15 to 20 years. Actual implementation will depend on the parish’s needs and financial ability. We anticipate the first phase will begin in 2008.

 How do you determine which buildings go into each phase and the order of implementing the various phases?
Our primary focus has been on what to include in the first phase. We considered:
- Immediate needs vs. long term needs - we did not want to build today to meet a need expected to arise in 10 or15 years.
- Financing – how much money could we raise in a reasonable period of time to avoid excessive debt?
- Location – would the new building be built on vacant land or would we have to demolish an existing building?
- New use – could the vacated building be put to another use during its remaining useful life?
- Disruption/Inconvenience - how much disruption and inconvenience would we cause the parishioners and the ministries and how do we mitigate it?

What is included in the first phase and the subsequent phases?
Our present thinking is that the first phase will consist of a new Rectory, Social Ministry Building, and the Small Assembly Hall (with meeting/classrooms on the second floor). It is felt that the present design of the Rectory will not meet our long term needs. The Rectory is over 40 years old and is requiring increasing maintenance each year. The need for a new Joseph’s Coat and Food Panty has long been recognized. The Rectory and Social Ministry Building will be located on the north side of our campus on currently vacant land; thus minizing the amount of disruption and inconvenience to parish life. Additionally, the space they are vacating can be used for other parish activities during their remaining useful life.  The Small Assembly Hall and meeting/classrooms will address other needs identified by the staff and the Parish Survey.

The buildings to be included in subsequent phases and their timing will depend on number of issues:
-  We will be conscious of developments in the parish and the adequacy of our facilities.
-  Periodically, we will formally review our plan assumptions to test their validity and adjust the plan as appropriate.
-  Finally, we will have to review the financial ability of the parish to fund additional construction.

What were the results of the Parish Survey?
We received 376 completed surveys.  A majority of the surveys indicated a desire to enlarge, modernize, update or replace the Activity Center, Audio/Visual Room, Classrooms, Food Pantry, Joseph’s Coat, Meeting Rooms, Multi-purpose Room, Music/Lecture Hall, Parish Administration Offices, Restrooms and the Youth Center. The results from those parishioners who  had used or visited a specific building or facility at least once during the year were that a majority expressed a desire for change to every building or facility that they had used or visited other than two offices.

In response to the section asking parishioners to indicate their interest in potential changes as “high”, “low” or “none”, over half the parishioners expressed a high interest in a Parish Hall closer to the church, a dedicated youth building, a covered drop off, larger meeting rooms, more meeting rooms, and more classrooms.

The written comments covered many areas. A predominate comment was a desire to do more for the youth of our parish.

 How much is each building estimated to cost?
We do not have detailed estimates for each building because:
- A detailed estimate will require additional expenditures for a Schematic Design.
- One of the assumptions in a Master Plan is that the plan may change with time and we did not think it prudent to commission detailed Schematic Designs for future buildings that are likely to be somewhat different than we are anticipating today.
- We would have to forecast construction costs out five, ten and fifteen years into the future, assuming we knew when each of the buildings would be constructed.

Won’t the costs increase the longer we wait?
Yes, it is anticipated that construction costs will increase over time. One option is to implement the entire plan immediately. This would be a huge financial burden on the parish and leave us with buildings for which we may not have a use for until 10, 15 or 20 years from now. We think the better option is to have a master plan in place that will allow us to react promptly as the need for additional space becomes apparent.