ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 6, 1996 TAG: 9612060020
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke Catholic, a 108-year-old private school near downtown Roanoke, plans a $5.1 million renovation and expansion that will give it a new look with state-of-the art labs and technology.
Construction on the first phase of the project - a multipurpose building with classrooms, auditorium, media center, cafeteria, administrative offices and other facilities - is expected to begin by spring 1998.
On Thursday, the school began the public phase of a $3 million fund-raising campaign to finance the new building, which is to be erected between the existing elementary and high schools on the campus next to St. Andrew's Catholic Church.
Roanoke Catholic already has received pledges totaling $1.1 million in cash and gifts in kind during the private phase of the campaign that has been under way for several months, said Principal Karen Mabry.
Mabry said the renovation and expansion will enable the only Catholic school in Southwest Virginia to increase its enrollment to approximately 600. The enrollment is 490 this year and has been increasing rapidly in recent years.
But Roanoke Catholic has no desire to get much larger than 600 because "our feeling is that we would lose something of the quality that we have if we got too big," Mabry said.
The school's physical facilities need to be upgraded because of their age and condition, officials said. Because of the growth in enrollment, many facilities are crowded and inadequate, they said.
None of the existing buildings is handicapped accessible and the heating, plumbing and electrical systems are inefficient, Mabry said.
Roanoke Catholic has a program that includes preschool through 12th grade, but there is no room on the campus for the preschool, which is housed at Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church on Electric Road.
With the expansion, the preschool could be moved to the school on the hill at St. Andrew's.
"We are really maxed out for space," Mabry said, adding that the school has turned down some applications because it didn't have space.
The newest building on the campus was constructed in 1962. Ryan Hall, which houses part of the lower school for kindergarten through seventh grade, was built in 1898.
When the new building is constructed, Roanoke Catholic will put more emphasis on computers and technology. The first phase will provide computer networking and a centralized communication system for the school.
"Our goal is to have every classroom on line [to the Internet] and a telephone in every room," Mabry said.
The new building will provide a consolidated cafeteria and a central library for the entire school and special-purpose rooms for art, music and other subjects.
The second phase of the project will be the renovation of the upper school for grades eight through 12, estimated to cost $1.3 million.
In the master plan, the final phase would be an overhaul of the lower school, projected at $850,000. But this phase might involve constructing a new building rather than renovating the existing structure, Mabry said. "We're keeping this open-ended now."
School officials hope the second and third phases can quickly follow the initial $3 million building.
"We're hoping this will have the [momentum] to carry us through the entire project," Mabry said.
At one point, Roanoke Catholic considered relocating and building a new school on a site near the VA Medical Center in Salem. But there were problems in extending utilities to the site and the bishop for the diocese decided it would be better to keep the school on the campus next to St. Andrew's, Mabry said.
Many parents of students, especially those who live outside the Roanoke Valley, like the current location because it is convenient to Interstate 581 and downtown Roanoke, she said.
The public phase of the fund-raising campaign will be headed by two Roanoke Catholic alumni, Christian Hoeser, a retired Norfolk Southern Corp. employee, and Robert L.A. Keeley, a Roanoke surgeon.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: An artist's rendering of a planned addition to Roanokeby CNBCatholic School. The total project is expected to cost $5.1 million.
color.