A worker hangs ventilation ducts in the future archdiocesan headquarters. Construction on the archdiocese's new chancery at 12 State Street in Capitol Park is on track for completion by November.Detroit — In the chancery on Washington Boulevard downtown, archdiocesan employees are dropping by the human resources area to check out new workstations, ergonomic office chairs, and colored fabric swatches.
Meanwhile, a block away in Capitol Park, a team of construction workers saw, drill, wire, and install ventilation in what, come November, will be the new chancery building and will unify the workers from four different archdiocesan sites under the same roof.
Cynthia Hairston from the chancellors office checks out the new office furniture.These summer activities feed optimism from contractors and the archdiocesan properties office that the archdiocesan Central Services will complete its move into its new home by early November.
“Several of our staff have compared this to what so many of our parishes are going through and have gone through in recent years,” said Krista Bajoka, adjunct to the moderator of the curia, who is helping spearhead the move among archdiocesan employees. “This is, really, the folks downtown ‘walking the talk’ in terms of consolidating, cutting costs, and going through significant changes.”
In May 2013, Archbishop Allen Vigneron announced the sale of three archdiocesan properties, and that employees from the chancery, Gabriel Richard office building, archdiocesan print shop, and office area of Sacred Heart Major Seminary would move into a new office building in nearby Capitol Park. The move — which netted $3.25 million for the sale of the chancery, Gabriel Richard and print shop buildings — served the dual purpose of lowering building upkeep costs and bringing employees together physically.
The move had been forecast in 2009, when Central Services downsized by approximately 30 percent of its workforce in order to stave deficits.
Central Service staffers have spent the past 14 months preparing their files, technology and office materials for the move. They currently occupy about 150,000 square feet, whereas the new space allocated is just over 40,000 square feet. Moreover, all Central Service employees this fall prepared for what Archbishop Vigneron has called a “change in culture” by attending training from the Catholic Leadership Institute.
The employees will continue preparations, but already have detailed instructions for the move date. The first day in the new site is slated for Nov. 10.
The archdiocese will occupy the bottom six floors of 12 State Street — a former bank building that most recently was home to the United Way of Southeast Michigan. The upper floors of the same building will be leased as apartments. Upon the sale of their properties, the Archdiocese of Detroit agreed to a 20-year lease with Capitol Park Partnership, LLC, the same group that purchased the present chancery building.
Built more than a century ago as the first steel-framed high-rise in Detroit, the chief contractors say the renovation project at 12 State Street has had its challenges, but promises exciting results.
“This is a beautiful building that has taken some modifications to bring it up to code, to meet the archdiocese’s requirements as well as the residential area,” said Ehrlich Crain, president of BuildTech LTD, which is managing the construction. “We basically stripped the building down to its core … The owners aren’t in it to flip and sell — this is being built for long-term quality.”
Following the move, archdiocesan Central Services will perform the same functions, though archdiocesan officials are hopeful that the new office space will lead to greater efficiency.
