Blessed today, blessing tomorrow—A campaign for St. Josaphat

Construction Background and Planning

The planning for Blessed Today, Blessing Tomorrow began with the introduction of the SJP Strategic Plan in early 2008.

One of 5 major goals of the Strategic Plan was to address the condition of the aging infrastructure of the parish campus. To accomplish this goal the Finance Council was tasked to form a Facilities Commission with a cross-section of strong, active parishioners experienced in the fields of architecture, construction, renovation and real estate.

The Commission surveyed the 3 major parish facilities: school, church and rectory. Then, with input from the parish and the Advisory Councils, the Commission developed a campus facilities matrix that identified safety issues, areas in need of extensive maintenance or repair, and capital improvements based upon future facility and staff needs. The Facilities Commission presented its report in the fall of 2008 (go to www.josaphatblessed.org to download a copy of the report) and its members became a working Sub-Committee of the Finance Council.

The Facilities Committee has assisted the Capital Campaign effort by the hiring of an architect to develop a Master Plan for the parish and the design for the much-needed school addition. The Committee also has the primary responsibility to work with the various Advisory Councils and Parish Pastoral Staff in the long-term maintenance of the Master Plan and to provide consultative services to the Pastor, as needed, in bidding out project work and in general project oversight.

Master Plan and Construction Schedule

The overall goal of the plan is to have the school addition complete in time for the opening of the 2011 school year. Repairs and renovations to the existing school, church and rectory buildings will be accomplished as pledge funds for the Blessed Today, Blessing Tomorrow campaign are received. We are hopeful to meet these planning milestones:

  • Architect Selection (COMPLETE) June 2009
  • Church Handicapped-accessible Entrance Summer 2009
  • Master Planning, School Design Concept September 2009
  • School Addition Design, Construction Docs and Permits June 2010
  • School Addition Construction Completed July 2011
  • Existing School Building and Rectory Tuck Pointing Summer 2012
  • Church Handicapped-accessible Bathrooms, Rectory Repairs, etc. Summer 2013

Architect Selection Process

The Facilities Committee undertook a rigorous process to select the right architect to develop the Master Plan and school construction plans. 14 local architecture firms were solicited to submit their qualifications for consideration. After review, the Committee narrowed the list down to 6 firms with strong school and church experience for the Request for Proposal phase. Upon receiving the proposals, 4 firms were identified to interview. Criteria used to select the 4 firms for interview included:

  • Project approach
  • Proposed fees & hourly rates
  • Experience of proposed staff
  • Experience of proposed consultants
  • Information obtained via references
  • Master planning experience
  • Experience with sustainable design
  • Early childhood facilities experience
  • K-12 experience
  • Private/parochial school experience
  • Church experience
  • Not-for-profit experience
    • Renovation experience
    • Chicago archdiocese experience
    • City of Chicago experience

The firms interviewed were asked to come prepared to discuss their approach, their team, their experience, their fee structure and other information they felt was important for the Committee to know. The interviewed firms included Newman Architecture, OWP&P, Jaeger Nickola and Holabird & Root. Newman Architecture was selected based on the strength and balance of their personnel, the enthusiasm and interest demonstrated in the interview, the body of work in schools and parishes, and the competitive fee. Newman also had very good master planning experience, and had great responses to questions regarding the involvement of students and parish children in the project. Newman’s portfolio also includes approximately 95% renovation projects.

Newman Architecture, located in Naperville, was founded by Chuck Newman in 1982. They have a professional staff of approximately 10 architects and designers. Both Dawn Newman (Chuck’s sister) and Matt Hichens, who are leading our project, are principals in the firm. Matt is an architect and Dawn is an interior designer.

Updates to the Master Plan and construction schedule will be posted to www.josaphatblessed.org as well as a construction corner which will showcase pictures of the progress of the construction. Be sure to visit the website often to watch the progress unfold!!