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Jan. 18, 2007
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Archdiocese’s moving plans evolve |
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Saint Francis Seminary preparing to house offices |
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A moving truck is parked near the entrance of the Milwauke Bucks’ practice facility at the Cousins Center in St. Francis. While the Bucks are not moving out of the center, all archdiocesan offices expect to be located elsewhere by the end of the year. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)
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ST. FRANCIS — The moving vans aren’t lined up in front of the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center yet, but the timeline for the projected move of archdiocesan offices and the sale of the 415,000 square foot facility on the Lake Michigan lakefront is becoming clearer.
Vans have appeared sporadically, however, as all but seven of the 23 retired priests who called Cousins Center home last June have found other accommodations. Additionally, in December, one of the building’s tenants, the National Association of Catholic Chaplains, vacated its offices, moving to a location near Mitchell International Airport.
Moving day for some archdiocesan offices may be this summer, but others might not leave until the end of the year, according to Jerry Topczewski, the archbishop’s chief of staff and seminary transition team leader.
Topczewski updated priests, deacons and parish directors on the move during two presentations in early January at the Cousins Center, explaining that the archdiocesan offices will be relocated to multiple locations.
The administrative offices, including Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan’s office, the chancery, clergy services, tribunal and finance office, will be moved to Henni Hall at Saint Francis Seminary.
Meyer Hall, formerly a residence for retired priests and before that on separate occasions, home to Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi and Saint Francis seminarians, will become the site of pastoral offices, including parish consultants, cultural ministries, parish services and planning, the Catholic Stewardship Appeal and development office.
Formation offices, including schools, catechetics, the new John Paul II Center, headed by Fr. Javier Bustos, which will provide adult catechesis and formation, will be located on Layton Boulevard in a building owned by the School Sisters of St. Francis.
Multiple locations,
greater presence
The archdiocesan offices will be moved to multiple locations, according to Topczewski, in part due to space limitations, but also in response to the call to establish greater presence throughout the archdiocese.
Topczewski noted that at all three locations, including the buildings on seminary grounds, the archdiocese will pay rent for use of the space as Saint Francis Seminary is a separately-run corporation.
In the long run, Topczewski said, operating costs for the archdiocese will be significantly less – the Cousins Center alone cost $1 million to run per year – but in the short term, there are several costs, including some renovations to Henni Hall, that will be incurred. Thomas VanHimbergen, Saint Francis Seminary director of finance and administration estimated between $4 milion and $8 million in renovations would be made to the seminary campus over the next three years.
Among the modifications planned for Henni Hall are a new handicap-accessible entry way, a new elevator and stairway in the southwest corner of the building and larger restrooms, to conform to building codes which require handicap accessibility.
The only work planned for Meyer Hall, he said, was painting and recarpeting, as planners want to leave the building in its current apartment-style layout in the hopes that in three to five years it may be needed again to house seminarians.
“If seminary enrollment continues to grow at the pace we’ve seen, the need for residential space will continue to grow,” he explained, adding, “what a great problem to have.”
Other buildings on the seminary grounds, such as the Miller Gymnasium and Kiley Hall, may factor into future plans. For the present, Kiley Hall will remain home to the archdiocesan vocations office and may house the vast archive collection.
Renovation to begin in spring
Renovation work is expected to begin on Henni Hall sometime this spring after architectural plans are finalized, according to VanHimbergen. He said he expects the work to be completed by early winter, at which time offices would begin moving from the Cousins Center to the seminary grounds.
Topczewski said offices moving to the School Sisters of St. Francis site could move as early as July.
He stressed, however, that plans continue to evolve and little regarding the move has been finalized.
“We’re in flux. What I say today, I tell you with the caveat that it might change,” he said, referring to the process of relocating the archdiocese’s approximately 120 central office employees as a “big jigsaw puzzle.”
While the move is challenging, Topczewski noted it is also an opportunity for those involved.
“The hope is that this creates an opportunity for all of us to rethink how we work, both together as a staff and in our relationships with the parishes and schools,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to rethink how best we can serve.”
Tenants also looking for space
Not only has the Cousins Center – the former De Sales Prep, built in 1963 and closed in 1979 — housed the central offices since 1982, but it is home to several tenants, including Catholic Charities, the Catholic Community Foundation, the Milwaukee Bucks, Marriage Encounter, Charismatic Renewal Office, the Milwaukee Catholic Press Apostolate which includes your Catholic Herald and the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing.
Those offices are independently searching for new space. According to Topczewski, there may be room available in Meyer Hall for the Milwaukee Catholic Press Apostolate to rent.
Since 1982, the Cousins Center has been the hub of activity for the archdiocese. Many workshops, sporting events, and the Pallium Lecture series are a few of the activities held at the center. Topczewski said, on a case by case basis, these activities will look for new venues.
“This might inspire some new ways to be present in other parts of the diocese,” he said, noting that event planners may look to Catholic high schools, parishes, the cathedral atrium or civic sites when scheduling events.
Acknowledging that the Cousins Center had been a sign and symbol of the Catholic Church in Milwaukee, Topczewski said, “The question is should a central, administrative office be that sign and symbol of the church or might we have better signs and symbols of the church in the community, in our parishes and in the good works of the people of the archdiocese?” He added that Saint Francis Seminary, with its tree-lined driveway, dome overlooking the lakefront and stately buildings, can be a symbolic hub of the archdiocese.
Cousins Center on the market
While plans for the move are becoming finalized, plans to to sell the Cousins Center are also progressing.
In mid-December, the archdiocese retained two of Milwaukee’s largest real estate brokerage firms to assist in the sale of the building and the 44-acre property on which it is located.
The firms are Colliers Barry and RFP Commercial Inc., both headed by Catholics, noted Topczewski.
In a telephone interview with your Catholic Herald, Jim Barry III, president of Colliers Barry, described the property as unique and one he expects will generate much interest from potential investors.
“We’ve had a range of different prospects from those who would like to use the existing building to those who would use the existing building and develop some of the land to those who’d like to develop the land,” he explained.
Barry said the brokers – at the request of the archdiocese – will market the property without a specific asking price.
“Ultimately it will be up to the archdiocese to determine whether the highest bidder and the best use are compatible. Other factors aside from just price, the archdiocese has a desire to see a good use to put there and that’s hopefully what we find,” he said.
The sale of the Cousins Center will in part pay the $8.25 million the archdiocese owes following the $16.65 million settlement from the California lawsuits involving two former priests of the archdiocese, Franklyn Becker and Siegfried Widera. The remaining $8.4 million will be paid by insurance providers.
An article in your Sept. 7 Catholic Herald, reported that “while the archdiocese had prepared to sell Cousins Center before the California cases were settled, it had planned to use the revenue from that sale to renew the endowment of Saint Francis Seminary, pay for the move of archdiocesan offices to the seminary campus and to endow the needs of the Cousins Center offices.”
Bucks’ lease a factor
The Cousins Center has been the site of the Milwaukee Bucks training center since 1986 and Barry said the Bucks have a lease through June 2007 with the opportunity to extend that lease. The Bucks’ lease will be a factor in a potential sale, but Barry expects that it can be worked out with the potential buyer and it will not be a hindrance to the sale.
A 1982 graduate of Marquette University High School, Milwaukee, and a member of the Basilica of St. Josaphat, Barry said his Catholic roots make him aware of the value the Cousins Center has had to the archdiocese.
“I’m certainly interested in doing the best job we can not only from a business standpoint, but to ensure the archdiocese can put together the best deal that we can have on the site. I’m conscious this is an important thing for the archdiocese,” he said, adding it makes him determined to find the best possible buyer.
“It’s a very unique and exciting opportunity for me to work on this project and in some senses it is challenging, but I think at the end of the day, my hope is that we can produce a result that will be satisfying for the archdiocese and for (the Cousins Center’s) future use,” said Barry. |
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