Work continues on site immediately surrounding St. Margaret Church. More progress is evident to prepare the first parking area for paving by removing concrete and by doing other ground improvements.

While removing the archway inside the Church, we were pleased to find a jewel — the original window behind the sanctuary still in tact! Fr. Jamin is working to find a way to integrate this previously hidden treasure into the sanctuary design!

As it is in projects of this magnitude, we did hit one snag in the form of lead paint on the original siding of the Church, which inevitably translates into more dollars spent because of abatement. Two options were presented: first, remove the aluminum siding and chemically strip the old wooden siding to remove the lead paint in an attempt to salvage the wooden siding. This option is far more costly; in addition, costs could increase even more depending on the condition of the existing siding once the aluminum is removed. There would also be additional costs to get new wooden siding milled to match on the addition; and there could be additional work required by the painter to prepare the old wood for paint. A second option (and the option chosen), is to remove both layers of siding (wood and aluminum) and replace it with hardie siding.

Regardless, abatement is adding more than $85k to our project! In short, remember to keep using your Capital Improvement envelopes to support our renovation! An appeal with individual, furniture sponsorship opportunities will soon be mailed to our parishioners to solicit their support.
Keep your eyes open; good things are happening around the St. Margaret Campus!