Our Needs

The 1926 building has served the St. Gabriel community very well and holds wonderful memories of the many classes, events, parish gatherings, and Masses held there. However, today we are paying to upkeep the building despite it being antiquated, inadequate, underutilized, and unsafe.

Most of the building is not accessible to all parishioners and students.
Many areas cannot be used due to safety concerns.
Architecture and construction renovation estimates for the building range from $6–$10 million and these efforts would still fall short of meeting our current facility needs.
The vacant convent on our property also is run down, underutilized, unsafe and cost prohibitive to make usable for our needs.

Unsafe Gym

Our gymnasium does not serve our school or community to promote active healthy lifestyles as it:

Is inadequate and unsafe for school athletic events and student activities.
Is inadequate and unsafe for hosting parish families and social events.
Has outdated flooring, lighting, and lacks equipment such as wall padding and spectator bleachers.
Has a dark, dull atmosphere.
Has deteriorating masonry and chipped paint as well as asbestos insulation and lead paint.
Has no air-conditioning and outdated and inefficient heating, plumbing, and electrical systems that are costly to maintain or improve.
Doesn’t meet current building codes.

Inadequate Cafeteria & Kitchen

The cafeteria and kitchen support neither healthy nutritious student meals nor large community meals as they:

Have equipment that is outdated and inefficient.
Don’t meet current building codes.

Poor Accessibility & Classroom Space

Because the 1926 building is not accessible to all students, church members, or the public, we cannot be the inclusive and welcoming community we are called to be. The 1926 building:

Does not meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for accessibility.
Does not have accessible entrance and exit doors.
Houses the school’s art, science, and computer rooms, making them not accessible to some students.
Does not have enough classrooms for a computer lab or music classes.

No Parish Hall

St. Gabriel’s, without a parish hall, is severely limited in hosting fellowship activities and events:

We cannot serve our members who need or want events such as a wedding reception or funeral lunch.
Large events can only be held outdoors or in our inaccessible, non-air-conditioned gymnasium.
As such, we are unable to confidently schedule or comfortably host large church and community events.
We have no adequate space for our Catholic community to stay on our campus and share fellowship.

Inadequate Meeting Space

Our lack of meeting space impacts our work on many levels. One example is our inability to gather and empower our parishioner base in order to fulfill our becoming the Brightest Beacon of Hope with St. Bridget.

We do not have enough meeting space for teachers, staff, outreach programs, or mission groups.
We cannot confidently schedule meetings or hold multiple meetings at the same time.

Playground & Parking Lot Conflict

Needing to cordon off part of the blacktop parking lot to provide adequate playground space on school days provides neither a pleasant and safe play experience nor convenient and adequate parking.