The ‘Honoring Father Coyle’ Capital Campaign is the culmination of a longer capital campaign process that we have undertaken since the end of 2015. This ongoing campaign had three phases: first, to replace the slate roof on the Cathedral Office (completed in 2016); second, to remediate (which ultimately led to its replacement) the church’s pipe organ (completed in 2021); third, to remediate the Rectory. Throughout this period, funds have been raised through monthly second collections, special appeals, estate gifts, and other fundraising endeavors. In order to complete the Rectory phase now, we are transitioning the campaign to a more traditional pledge-based format.
On this page, information is provided first of all about the full scope of the Rectory’s issues, then about the priorities and goals for beginning to address them in this phase of the ‘Honoring Father Coyle’ campaign.
The Cathedral Rectory is a wood-framed structure with a masonry “envelope” and was built in 1922. Like any 101-year-old residence, it has seen a lot of changes down through the years – from adding bathrooms and reconfiguring living spaces, to retrofitting it for HVAC and modernizing the kitchen. In particular, a lot of attention has been given to aesthetic repairs; hence, for example, many rooms have multiple layers of wallpaper, sheetrock over cracked plaster, and coats and coats of paint.
In last few years, structural failure has rapidly wreaked havoc on the building. The damage has been both external and internal:
EXTERNAL PROBLEMS
- The roof, replaced some 25-30 years ago with a faux slate product that turned out to be faulty, started degrading soon after installation. Several interventions have been made to stop leaks, but the problem goes beyond the faux slate, in that dormers added at different times and in differing configurations over the years, as well as the placement of some vent pipes and other protrusions, have resulted in inherent runoff problems and additional water intrusion (i.e., that would exist to some extent, even if the roof had good slate on it).
- The top section of the roof is flat and has a membrane surface that has also failed; in 2022, a “skim coat” was applied to it to limit leakage until the entire roof could be fully and properly addressed.
- The foundation shows general signs of settling all over, which at first glance is not surprising, given the clay content of the soil. But this settling has been disproportionately heavy in recent years on the west side (facing the parking deck of the neighboring Concord Center), leading to major cracks in the walls both external and internal, resulting water intrusion, and extensive interior damage.
- Compacting and degradation of the foundation sill in certain areas has resulted also in settling. In many areas of the first floor interior, there is now a gap between the floor and the baseboard ranging from 1/8″ to as much as 3/4″ in some areas, due to the compression of the sill.
- Two east and west side wings of the building have an internal masonry gutter system (where the gutter is built into the top of the masonry wall rather than being external to it), which also appears to account for some of the water intrusion and failure of the masonry walls (and interior plaster as a result).
- The front façade, constructed of brick, is leaning forward (viewed from the side, it looks as if it is gradually curling over) and risks collapse. A metal cable was added at some point to try to stabilize it, puncturing the roof so that it could be secured to a rafter in the attic – now also a source of water intrusion.
- Limestone decoration and capping is found on several areas of the exterior – much of which has become detached over the years and shifted around. It all needs to be re-attached (and pinned in place so that it cannot slide in the future).
- Each of the four doors that allow access to the house have steps leading up to them; there is no handicapped access.
- Issues with the dormers have made it possible for squirrels or bats to get into the attic in recent years.
- Issues with the crawl space under the house, which is not sealed, have led to persistent problemsl with rodents and other vermin having easy access to the interior.
- The garage or “carriage house” structure, just behind the Rectory, has severe cracking in the brick walls (the front wall, in particular, is completely separating from the side wall in one area, with a large gap) and the roof faces imminent collapse due to heavy water intrusion and consequent rotting of the support beams.
- The multiplicity of water problems has led to a great deal of dangerous black mold in the house and also in the “carriage house”.
- The lack of driveway to Third Avenue North means only one way in and out of the campus at present (via the gate on 22nd Street) – but the driveway is regularly blocked during busy times, leading to safety and access concerns.
INTERNAL PROBLEMS
- Large cracks and blistering of the plaster have occurred in the dining areas due to the settling of the foundation on the west side; water intrusion has also resulted in damage to finishes (most of the wallpaper is peeling, if not completely falling off in some areas, for example) and dangerous black mold.
- Concerning the black mold and other allergens resulting from the damage, Father Jerabek has had to place 12 HEPA-based air filtration devices throughout the house to try to mitigate its impact.
- A plumbing failure resulted in leaks on most of the antique dining room wood-enamel furniture, effectively ruining it.
- This plumbing failure also resulted in the plaster ceiling of the dining room having to be opened up.
- Water coming through a compromised dining room window frame (due to settling) during driving rains caused damage to the dining room floor.
- A water problem created by a failed HVAC unit on the second floor resulted in the collapse of a section of the plaster ceiling in the rear entrance hallway.
- A persistent water leak on the third floor led to the collapse of a ceiling in one of the bedrooms.
- Black mold is particularly evident and pervasive on the third floor (due to the roof leaks); it is evident in some areas of the second floor, and particularly bad on the first floor in those areas where the water problems have been worst.
- Electrical wiring in many areas is original and not grounded.
- Four of the seven bathrooms are “step up”, meaning that they are not handicapped accessible and are trip hazards.
- Most of the bathrooms need re-doing: fixtures are old and failing, tubs need to be replaced with showers, current tilework is cracked or failing, etc.
- Much of the plumbing is old and, if the problems of recent years are any indication, risks further failure.
- Extensive plaster damage is evident throughout the house (where it was not already covered over by sheetrock).
- Many rooms are wallpapered; without known exception, each of these has areas that are peeling or stained.
- None of the original windows on the first or second floor can be opened (third floor windows were replaced approx. 10 years ago); the windows are very drafty and, being only single-paned, let in a great deal of noise (e.g., the downtown nighttime street racing, etc.). In one bedroom, due to the draftiness of the windows and insufficiencies of the HVAC system in that part of the house, wall-mounted space heaters were added some years ago.
- Draperies and blinds throughout are at end-of-life or beyond.
- From here we could also list many “wants”: for example, addition of an elevator for greater accessibility; addition of climate zones for each priest suite; re-configuring second and third floor layouts to make better use of space and add a common area; changes to the first floor to facilitate entertaining of guests not only for the residents but also for diocesan meetings; etc.
SUMMARY
To address every known “need” and many of the “wants” would imply a large, lengthy, and expensive top-to-bottom renovation of the Cathedral Rectory. This option was explored as part of the planning and due diligence of the capital campaign. In 2021 numbers (when an estimate was generated for such a comprehensive “100 year renovation”), it would have cost at least $3.9 million to take this approach. With recent inflation and the pandemic impact on construction supply chain and pricing, that number would surely be a good deal higher just two years later.
Consequently, a phased approach was explored instead. The disadvantages of remediating the problems by means of phases are two-fold: 1) greater long-term expenditure; 2) some work ultimately is re-done or completely reversed (e.g., the plaster that was merely repaired in phase 1 eventually gets totally removed in a later phase, when the re-wiring and re-plumbing takes place and all the aging plaster is replaced with drywall). In any case, a phased approach is necessary at this time.
PRIORITES and GOALS FOR PHASE 1 OF THE ‘HONORING FATHER COYLE’ CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
The $1.5 million campaign aims to address the most urgent of issues: effectively, it aims to stabilize the structure and make it water-tight. These are the primary areas it intends to address:
- Make the building stable by adding helical pier support to certain areas of the foundation and replacing damaged sill.
- Make the roof water-tight by addressing issues with dormers, gutters, vents, and replacing the faux slate with a new, higher-quality (and time-tested locally) faux slate product that will properly complement the style of the house and the Cathedral campus, but save hundreds of thousands over the cost of real slate.
- Demolish the “carriage house” and add a concrete slab for additional parking capacity, and to prepare for the eventual addition of a driveway that exits on Third Avenue North.
- Re-point targeted areas of the external brickwork where the damage is worst; repair limestone cappings.
- Demolish and re-build the leaning façade, adding steel structural support so that the problem will not repeat in the future; addition of a Celtic cross on its apex.
- Repair major plaster wall cracks in the dining areas, as well as close-up the dining room ceiling (no other interior aesthetic improvements, such as removal of wallpaper and painting, are included at this time).
- Add a handicapped ramp leading up to the back door.
TIMELINE AND COST
This work is due to take eight months to complete at an anticipated cost of $1.5 million**. Thanks to an extraordinary concession from Bishop Raica, we are able to begin this work starting on November 6, 2023, even though we are just at the beginning stages of the ‘Honoring Father Coyle’ $1.5 million Capital Campaign. It is essential that we begin the pledge process as soon as possible so that we can meet this goal and properly recognize our bishop’s generous support!
** This budget includes a small cushion so that, for example, we might be able to buy a new dining room set to replace the ruined one, begin remediating black mold once it is no longer being “fed” by active leaks, and perhaps take care of a few smaller aesthetic improvements such as fully stripping the wallpaper in the dining room and either re-wallpapering or painting, etc.
FUTURE PHASES
Obviously, several “needs” and “wants” will remain after this first phase of the ‘Honoring Father Coyle’ Capital Campaign is complete. First, it is to be hoped that we might exceed our campaign goal on this first phase and be able to do even more than its fairly limited scope. But beyond that, upon completion of this phase, we will evaluate next steps and how best to define a Phase 2.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul 