Gathered and reviewed bids. Selected a General Contractor. The announcement will be made once the Diocese approves.
Kick off of weekly meetings to begin project.
February 2024
Edifice announced as the General Contractor.
March 2024
Meetings held to determine how best to restore the pews, how to accomodate the needs of the hearing impaired and integrate requirements into the new audio system plan, and to discuss the new lighting plan in the Church.
April 2024
Presentations and discussions continue about listening radio frequency (RF) technology.
May 2024
Church closes. Mass now being held in Benedict Hall. Project is underway. Windows and altar are protected. Pews removed,
June 2024
Big clean to remove centuries of black dust from the ceiling.
Light fixtures and ceiling tiles removed.
Ceiling tile installation began.
July 2024
Ceiling tile installation continues. Flexible plywood is being installed before the ceiling tiles. It provides a layer of protection to reduce heat from the attic. It also bends with the curve of the ceiling, helping with tile installation.
August 2024
Celling tile installation complete.
Old flooring removed.
Sub-floor installed.
New lighting installed.
September 2024
NC oak hardwood floor installed in Church.
Wood stained (including wainscot) in Church.
New framing, ceiling and lighting installed in Biss Hall
The Renovations and Repairs Project planning kicked off in January 2024 after a successful fundrainsing Capital Campaign. As of February 1, 2024, St. Peter Church exceeded our fundraising goal resulting in a total slightly over $2.7 million (consisting of pledges and payments to date without pledges), which is approximately 5% over our fund target. We thank you for your generosity to safeguard and preserve this historic structure.
This project includes two primary goals to restore St. Peter Church to its original soundness and preserve it for future generations:
1. Ensure building resiliency
Ensure the sanctuary continues to serve as the home of St. Peter parish into 2073 and beyond.
Replace tin ceiling in the sanctuary.
Repair historic tin ceiling below balcony and narthex.
Replace hard wood floors (including subfloor and select structural upgrades).
Ensure exterior weather tightness, including bell tower painting and repairs.
2. Enrich the worship experience
Enhance the worship environment for all parishioners and visitors.
Refinishing and repair the pews (original to the building) that were a gift from Katharine Drexel in 1910.
Improve sound/acoustics in the sanctuary (and the overflow in Biss Hall).
Retrofit the lighting.
Improve heating and cooling in building.
Ensure welcoming levels of access while maintaining physical security.
Optimize the entry sequence.
Ensure universal access for worship. Maintain occupant health, safety, welfare.
Many hands are required to accomplish the project, which include:
Diocese of Charlotte: Office of Divine Worship, the Construction Office and the Development Office
Project Manager: Jim Washabaugh, JLL
Architect: Vincent Ciccarelli, Insight Architects
General Contractor: Edifice
Update from Fr. Tim Stephens
Feb. 25, 2024: At the risk of dating myself, one of the first movies I remember seeing is Lilies of the Field. Homer Smith, played by the magnificent Sydney Poitier, is essentially cajoled or coerced by an immigrant nun (Mother Superior) to build a chapel for the nuns and the local community. In the story, each of them comes to realize that no one person is responsible for building the chapel–it required an outpouring of support from the entire community coupled with divine assistance. (It might be worth recalling that the role of the local priest was to look on with doubtful amazement which ultimately gave way to tearful joy.) Homer Smith also came to realize that while many hands make for lighter work, they also make for more complicated work.
And so, in our real-life drama, we are now moving forward with repairing and renovating our church – St. Peter. Your support, which I never doubted, is making it possible. Because your generosity has been so great and so rapid, it is unlikely that we will need to ‘cut any corners’ barring unexpected discoveries about the state of the ceiling or the floor.
Our ‘many hands’ to accomplish the project include the Diocese, our project manager (parishioner Jim Washabaugh with JLL), our architect (Vincent Ciccarelli with Insight Architects), our general contractor (Edifice) and many, many subcontractors still to be determined, along with our parish staff and councils.
The projected start date for turning the church (and Biss Hall) over to the contractors is Monday, May 13. In rough outline, we expect that the first week will involve emptying the church and Biss Hall of everything from chairs to chalices and taking measures to protect everything that cannot be moved (e.g., the organ). The second week the pews will be removed and taken off-site for restoration. Then work will begin, first on the ceiling and later the floor. (We wouldn’t want to erect scaffolding on a new floor; and some of the work on the floor may need to be accomplished from underneath in Biss Hall.) The lighting and the sound systems will be restored or more likely replaced in tandem with the work on the ceiling. As the major work draws to a close, there will be some ancillary renovations (e.g., the inner and outer doors in the narthex); and Biss Hall will be put back together, complete with a new floor and safety enhancements in the kitchen. We hope to finish the project in late August; but we are developing contingency plans if the project continues into September. In an upcoming bulletin, I’ll share with you some of our plans for continuing and enhancing the life of our parish while the church is being renovated. I hope you will be as enthusiastic as I am about what is in store for us. Perhaps you, like I, will even be led to tearful joy.