A dream 15 years in the making is finally coming true for St. Paul Church in Macomb.
Using the $1.3 million raised over the past several years, the church has purchased the former West Jackson Street dental office of Dr. Timothy Fitzgerald, who retired two-plus years ago, and will raze the home on the property, which is directly west of the church, to build a 7,818-square-foot parish hall, according to St. Paul School Principal and Parish Hall Committee Chair Laura Cody. Morton Building has been contracted to construct the new hall. The home is expected to be demolished by the end of the month, Cody explained. The new hall will be available for members of St. Paul, as well as St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, as the two parishes have consolidated and are now under the St. Hubert Parish.
'The new hall, which we hope to begin construction yet this year, will house two offices for our priests, as well as an office for our business manager, and will feature a conference room, a warming kitchen for catering, accessible restrooms and a space large enough for St. Paul Church and our parishioners to host large events,' she said. 'We will also have a beautiful new prayer garden and patio area on the east side of the building closest to the church.'
'The existing landscape will be modified, with some of the elements on the property incorporated into the interior's décor as a lasting legacy to the land,' Cody added. For example, wood from a tree that must be removed as a safety precaution as it's near the current church, as well as the new building site, will be repurposed and made into a piece of furniture, such as a conference room table, that will 'stand the test of time,' she shared.
'This new hall will get our groups and large events out of the school gym so we no longer have to sacrifice classroom space,' Cody pointed out. 'Our church will be able to use this beautiful new parish hall, which will have a similar look to our school and church so it all blends seamlessly, for wedding receptions, our fundraising events, funeral dinners, Bible studies and much more. We usually host close to 200 people at our events, like Trivia Night, so this will give us a new, modern hall to make these events even bigger and better.'
In addition to the new structure and its modern interior, the Parish Hall Committee will enhance the landscaping, including planting new trees, shrubbery and flowers when the building is complete to further beautify the church grounds. Cody said there have been a variety of designs considered since the idea was first floated in 2010, and the current Parish Hall Committee, after gaining approval from the diocese which owns the church property, settled on a final design that fits with the scheme of the church and school.
'We're so excited that after all these years, we're moving forward. It had been held up for a variety of reasons throughout the last decade, most notably COVID, which shut down everything and raised costs on materials,' she added. 'We cannot thank the support of our parish enough and the generosity of our many benefactors who have made this happen.'
'Our goal, particularly since we are now the St. Hubert Parish with St. Rose of Lima, is to grow our parish, our faith and our friendship, and this new hall will bring all of this together,' Cody concluded. 'Our beautiful dream of doing this for our parish family is becoming a reality.'
