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Renovation Project

Church Renovation

Witness the Transformation
Before and After Interior
- Renovation Book
  
  Through the very successful and ongoing Capital Campaign, we have been able to renovate and remodel our beautiful church. At the suggestion of Fr. Keith, a book was compiled regarding the process. It features a history of the parish, the remodeling, the historic Rededication Mass and many photos (some never seen before). It is titled: Rejuvenation, Renovation, Rededication. The book will be for sale for $5 each at the rectory.
October 9th, 2021 Rededication Mass
Oct 4, 2021
Sep 15, 2021
- Sep 3, 2021
  
  This past week the final section of the plaza was poured. The next step will be for
  the brick layers to finish the plaza wall and add the St. Mary’s lettering to the front.
  The pews are being installed. The platform in the sanctuary is being built to have the
  altar, the ambo and the presider chair be on the same level. The cabinets in the
  sacristies are being installed and stained. New lighting is being installed. And finally, the protective glass for the stained glass windows is being put into place. We are entering the final weeks of renovation work on the church. Saturday, October 9 is fast approaching, when we will be able to celebrate the completion of this once in a lifetime project.
Aug 27, 2021
- Aug 13, 2021
  
  This week, the protective glass panels were installed on the
  exterior of the stained glass windows. The tile and grouting is being applied in the restrooms. The interior light pendants have arrived and will be installed shortly. The vast majority of painting the ceiling and of the walls is reaching completion. We are
  nearing the end of the church renovation. There are still several more weeks of work to be done. As I have described the church before, this “diamond in the rough” is being turned into a crown jewel.
- July 30, 2021
  
  Walking through the church Friday, there was a buzz of activity, electricians were replacing the main breaker box, cutting holes in the new electrical box, an electrician was taping wires together, windows were being removed and the wooden frames were being prepared to hold new windows. They had already reinstalled the refurbished window of St. Patrick in the “bride’s room.”
- Outside the church, workers were on scaffolding applying “stucco” to the underside of the overhang. Bricklayers were setting bricks on the inside of the plaza wall. There has been a wave of activity this week, I am looking forward to seeing what next week brings.
  -Fr Keith
- July 23, 2021
  
  This week, renovations to the church are moving forward at a fast pace. The
  base flooring in the upstairs has been installed. This now allows the painters the
  ability to set up scaffolding in the balcony to complete the painting of the ceiling.
  The painters have begun to apply the finish coat to some areas in the “work”
  sacristy. The exterior wooden window frames have been given a fresh coat of paint.
  For me, the most exciting part of the week’s progress was observing the artwork for
  the wall behind the altar being installed. In my opinion, even while looking through
  all the scaffolding, the decorative canvas draws out the beauty of the white marble
  altars. - Father Keith
- July 16, 2021
  
  This past week, there has been a whirlwind of activity at the church. The south side of the plaza wall has been bricked. The exterior north wall has been properly sealed to prevent water seeping into the church. The old dingy plexiglass covering the stained glass windows has been removed. The exterior wood frames of the windows are being painted. The floor decking in the choir loft is being installed. Decorative artwork is being applied to the wall behind the main altar. If the weather cooperates, next week I will be able to inform you the cement for the plaza has been poured.
- June 25, 2021
  
  The arch over the entrance is erected. And work continues on the interior of the church. Paint, floor polishing, refurbishing the pews and stained glass windows continues. We are moving ever closer to the completion of our beautiful sacred space.
- June 11, 2021
  
  The pouring of the foundation for the plaza wall.
- Metal frame for the awning over the entrance.
- Pouring cement for the plaza wall.
- Frame for the plaza wall.
- May 4, 2021
  
  There are three major areas of continued focus, the painting
  of the ceiling, setting the forms for the sidewalk and the cleaning of the stone on the exterior of the church.
  
  The one ton baptismal font, which was moved to the narthex.
  
  Below: Setting the forms for the sidewalk on the
  East side of the church.
- Preparation for exterior sidewalk and gathering space.
- April 9, 2021
  
  Progress continues on the church renovation. This week work progresses on cleaning the stone and marble, interior painting and the moving of dirt for the plaza in front of the church. The design and color scheme for the decorative wall behind the altar has been approved and is being finalized.
- This week scaffolding was erected in the sanctuary for the subcontractors to begin cleaning the marble
  altars. The painters have begun to paint the walls and the "beams" on the ceiling. The steps to the front of the church have been demolished along with the sidewalk.
- March 25, 2021
  
  Thanks to all who stopped by after the Masses this weekend to walk through the church. We were excited to share the progress with our parish family. The result is going to be an incredible gift for our whole community. Thank you to all who have donated time, talent and treasure to this project. The final rendering for the design behind the altar has been completed.. Work to begin soon. How beautiful it will be to see it finished!
- March 26, 2021
  
  The church renovation continues forward. This week scaffolding was erected in the sanctuary for the subcontractors to begin cleaning the marble altars. The painters have begun to paint the walls and the beams on the ceiling.
- The steps to the front of the church have been demolished along with the sidewalk. The upcoming week, is scheduled to bring dirt work to the entrance of the church, continuing to paint and clean the marble. Your facilities committee is pleased with the progress of the work done up to this point.
- March 16, 2021
  
  There has been a great amount of renovation work accomplished in the previous two weeks, the painting of the ceiling panels continues, the terrazzo floors are being polished, returning to their original brilliance. The carpet on the steps leading to the “high” altars has been removed and polished. What awaits us are beautiful white marble steps with grayish/black veins!
- As you drive by the church, one can see the base material for the front plaza has been spread out and compacted. The drainage pipes carrying water away from the east side of the church have been installed. The progress continues.
- March 19, 2021
  
  Renovations to the church continues to progress. This week, most of the
  interior walls received their first coat of paint. The other progress focused on
  removing a partial wall from the women’s restroom, to reconfigure the area,
  removing cabinets in the vesting sacristy to allow for a more functional redesign
  and the interior walls and carpeting in the confessionals were removed to
  prepare for a reconfiguration of these areas.
- This week, work is scheduled to begin on the exterior front “plaza.” A
  considerable amount of design time has been invested to allow access to the
  church entrance without the need to navigate any steps. If you are able to
  drive along 4 th Street, you will be able to see operators of heavy construction
  equipment preparing the area for the new, “gathering friendly” plaza.
- March 12, 2020
  
  Climbing up the folding stair ladder in the church led me to an attic filled with items from bygone days in the church. As I carefully crawled beneath the A/C ductwork, I saw standing in a corner, caked in dust, candlesticks. In the center of the
  room were cardboard boxes. On the boxes were written Three Kings, another, angels and another shepherds; statues from nativity displays. I crawled to the far end, under low hanging ventilation ducts. As I straightened up, I noticed stacked neatly along the wall were horizontal and vertical pieces of marble, sections of the original altar rail in the church. From my first time in the attic until now, the items discovered have been and will be incorporated into the renovation. The candlesticks are the ones which were on the high altar. The pieces of marble will be used to create a niche in front of both side altars. After many trips up the stairs to the attic over several years, I discovered a cache of items to be incorporated into our existing worship space.
  
  After finding such treasures, there still was something missing, I
  couldn’t find “it.” I was hoping “it” would be found somewhere in storage but there was no hope of having been saved.
  This past week in the church as carpet is being pulled away, HVAC ducts are being upgraded, there was a piece of marble on the high altar which needed to be removed. This was the location of the original tabernacle. When the marble piece
  was removed, their “it” was - in the original tabernacle. The original brass door to the tabernacle was inside the niche! It had been sealed over all these years by a piece of white/grayish veined marble. After all this time, I found the candlesticks, altar rail pieces, but never the door to the tabernacle. What a beautiful discovery. The door will be cleaned and reinstalled, returning back to its’ original location. This discovery
  is a blessing for the parish. What an exciting time for the parishioners of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church.
  
  -Fr Keith
- Risers are being removed from a section of the balcony in preparation for the pipe organ.
- Upcoming: this week the painter will begin and the mechanical subcontractor will begin addressing upgrading the vents (registers) for airflow.
- Photos courtesy of Tessa Streit. Videos courtesy of Tim Mikeska.
- March 5, 2021
  
  Renovations are officially underway. The 110 year old stained glass rose window, which was high above the main doors to the church and withstood the test of time, was removed and taken to the studio of Foster Glass in Bryan for restoration.
- The mahogany pews have been disassembled and are ready for
  transportation to the factory in Waco where they will be refinished. Carpets were pulled up, revealing terrazzo floors underneath.