Construction is underway on a $6 million addition and renovation at St. Elizabeth's Catholic School and Parish in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, Mo.
St. Elizabeth’s Early Childhood Center (ECC), located across the street from the church, is also included in the campus master plan as part of a design-build partnership with Straub Construction, Hollis + Miller Architects and Lankford | Fendler + Associates.
The new plan unites the ECC and the church on the west side of Main street, with the goal of improving safety, security and functionality for students, faculty and staff.
"By relocating the ECC building to the main campus, students and teachers no longer have to cross the street at the busy intersection of 75th and Main. The new master plan provides a safer solution," said Joe Riedel, vice president of business development for Straub Construction.
Many of the students who now attend the school are the second —or even third — generation of families to attend St Elizabeth School.
"One of the coolest parts of this story is how so many current parents, who once attended the school themselves, have banded together to pay it forward to ensure the legacy of the school stays strong for the next 100 years," said Riedel.
The 20,000 SF project includes a conversion of the existing rectory, built in 1948, into modern learning spaces designed specifically for students pre-school through kindergarten. The main sanctuary will be renovated to improve accessibility, functionality, storage and acoustics.
“The new Early Childhood Center at St. Elizabeth establishes an exciting vision for our parish and school moving forward. It strengthens our commitment to the education and religious formation of our children and locates all our school buildings in close proximity to one another. The new facility will be tailored to the needs of early childhood education and will enable us to serve more families in the Waldo area,” said St. Elizabeth Parish pastor, Fr. Greg Haskamp.
Renovations to the sanctuary are complete. The Early Childhood Center will be open for school in August 2020.