It’s been at least 25 years in the making but St. James Parish is finally building a new church just east of Perris city limits.
A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 11 and initial grading work at the Dunlap Drive property began in April. In a year, the parish hopes to be worshipping in its spacious new 1,500 seat church.
“Excitement is coming little by little,” said Father Pedro Amezcua, C.O.R.C., Pastor of St. James. “The opportunity God’s providence is giving us to build the church anew in Perris, it means that we are to recall that we are the people of God, searching for holiness and walking in Perris spreading the Kingdom of God.
St. James current church, built in 1957, seats about 300 people. The small size, coupled with a growing congregation, necessitates eight weekend Masses at the parish. Large overflow crowds typically gather outside the church on Sunday mornings to listen to the Mass through externally mounted speakers.
The need for a bigger church at St. James is not new, the parish began the fundraising drive to buy the land in 1981, purchasing the Dunlap Drive property back in 1996.
At the March 11 groundbreaking ceremony, Father Rafael Partida, Episcopal Vicar for the Riverside Pastoral Region, performed a blessing of the property on behalf of Bishop Gerald Barnes.
The estimated cost to build the new church is $6.9 million. It will be the fifth church to utilize the Diocesan church design template that allows for more cost-effective construction.
Full story at Inland Catholic Byte.
Did the previous four come in with a construction cost at or below $6.9 million? [estimated cost of Saint James in Perris]. Sounds like the common template will save on design fees, thus freeing scarce cash for charitable needs. I trust the actual construction work is put out to competitive bids, not just given to the same contractor.
$6.9 million is a lot of money for a hole in the ground for a foundation, a floor, walls and roof. The altar and pews included? On Tender require breakdown on all costs individually ! Excavation, concrete, lumber, wiring, plumbing, roof covering. All labor hours and rates to determine actual costs. Profit on costs….10% should be maximum! GGOD LUCK on the control of costs!
The Memory remembers what it use to be, not what it is today. $6.9 mm is not a lot of money for a church now days. Check around. A typical high school today runs about $20mm or more. Homes are generally about $250 per square foot when you consider materials, labor and permits. I remember one parish that built a new church and ended up spending nearly $3.0 mm just to put in the sewers, water storage and underground utilities. Permits can run $50-100K. Using standard building plans can help. The LDS church is very good at this.
What is a “weekend Mass?” I think he meant to say, eight Sunday Masses?
When is church open for business?