A seminary for the ages

St. Joseph's will 'last for centuries'

Artist's rendering shows the new St. Joseph Seminary as seen from the southeast from the traffic circle at 98th Avenue and 84th Street. enlarge

By GLEN ARGAN
WCR Editor
Edmonton

The new St. Joseph Seminary will be built to last for centuries, says the man overseeing planning of the seminary near downtown Edmonton.

"The archbishop wants this to be a legacy project for the archdiocese," says Garnet McKee, the project manager. "It's going to be a great facility."

McKee said he expects the functional areas of the new seminary to be complete by June 30, 2009 when the seminary and Newman Theological College must vacate their current site on St. Albert Trail.

Artist's rendering shows the new seminary chapel. enlarge

While construction is on a "tight" deadline, the new seminary will be built to last for 200 to 300 years, McKee told the WCR.

Construction crews began moving earth on the site at 84th Street and 98th Avenue on June 9 and a sod-turning ceremony is slated for June 24.

Planning for the new Newman College is in the early stages, but McKee said he expects the college will be operating at its new site, immediately north of the seminary, by September 2010.

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The seminary and college will each be freestanding structures and will not be integrated, he said. A parking lot, with access from 84th Street, will separate the two.

In the interim, the college will operate out of the former Lakeland College in Sherwood Park.

New chapel

The focal point of the new seminary will be a 250-seat chapel that will incorporate stained glass windows and other religious artifacts from the current facility, the project manager said.

While the functional part of the seminary - mainly the residence for 60 seminarians - will open in July 2009, the chapel and seminary offices are not likely to be completed until October. The design will also allow for expansion of the seminary to include up to 90 seminarians.

The building will incorporate numerous environmentally friendly features and will be certified by LEED (Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design). Those features include everything from energy-efficient roofs and reuse of existing materials to waterless urinals.

Project manager Garnet McKee

The building is located as far as possible from the hilltop overlooking the North Saskatchewan River in order to avoid imposing any load on the hilltop.

Jesus and Joseph

A statue of St. Joseph at the current seminary will be relocated to the entrance to the new site. The landmark statue of Jesus located along St. Albert Trail will find a new location in the design for the new Newman College.

Cost estimates for the seminary and college are not yet available. But the provincial government will pay the archdiocese $42.4 million to purchase the current site in order to extend Anthony Henday Drive.

The new site is 19 acres and is already home to several buildings including the Catholic Pastoral Centre and Villa Vianney, a home for retired archdiocesan priests.

The site was donated to the archdiocese in the 1980s by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. The sisters had run various programs for girls there since the early 20th century.

Coho Sevamy are the design consultants for the seminary project, while Dawson Wallace is the construction manager and prime contractor.

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