The Spanish design of the nearly 100-year-old church was an inspiration for the facades of the buildings located on the Plaza. Now, church officials want to add to the sanctuary, build a new chapel and community center on the lower level.
The church is currently undergoing a capital campaign to pay for the improvements, which are slated to begin next spring and be completed in the spring of 2003.
"Right now we are in the middle of a feasibility study," said Fr. Norman Rotert, pastor of Visitation Parish, 5141 Main St. "We have finished design development. We have finished the renovation of the school on Baltimore and this June and July we will construct a parking lot with a playground in between the new school and the church."
Strategic planning for the expansions began about five years ago. Gould Evans Goodman Associates of Kansas City served as the architectural consultant for the $5.7-million school renovation. The parking lot and playground are expected to cost about $667,000. For the church renovation, Devine deFlon Yaeger Architects was retained.
Plans for the renovation are based on keeping the architectural integrity of the building in place while nearly tripling the space available in the sanctuary, which will eventually seat 950 persons. The chapel will seat 100.
In the last two years, church membership has grown about 10% to 1,100 households. Nearly two-thirds of the church's parishoners are aged 40 and under.
The expansion at Visitation is one of the largest efforts of Catholic parishes in the country, Father Rotert said.
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