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Schools

$11-million overhaul of St. Jude's begins

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published May 18, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - St. Jude Cathedral School broke ground for its new buildings Tuesday. The ceremony, led by Bishop Robert Lynch of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, marked the beginning of a long-awaited expansion and renovation of the 50-year-old school.

Construction of an elementary school building for pupils from early childhood to fifth grade is expected to begin before fall. The two-story structure, which will have 12 to 14 classrooms, is expected to be complete in time for the 2006 school year.

The new elementary school is the first phase of an extensive construction project that eventually will include renovation of an original building for the middle school, a new gymnasium, chapel, administration building, courtyard and specialty classrooms.

"I'm very excited for the teachers and the students and the moms and dads," Larry Lopez, the school's principal, said Monday.

"I think it is only the beginning of good things to come to the school, and I think we're on a successful road to the future."

In an ideal world, said Sue Brett, a member of the project's steering committee, all the construction would be done at once.

But "we want to remain debt free. The cathedral has no income to service a debt."

Additionally, the school wants to keep tuition at a reasonable level, she said.

So far, $3.2-million has been collected toward the project's estimated $11.1-million cost. The capital campaign is continuing with gatherings at private homes, a golf tournament in October and other events, Brett said.

Tuesday's groundbreaking had been four years in the making. A fundraising effort begun in 2001 stalled. It was revived early in 2004 under the direction of the Rev. Gregg Tottle, the cathedral's new rector, who had built a school at spiritu Santo in Safety Harbor, his former parish.

Parishioners and parents have persisted with the project because of its urgency, Brett said.

"We're talking about safety and health issues. The buildings as they stand now are in desperate need of repair. The wise thing to do is raze the majority of the buildings and start anew," she said, adding that two buildings will be demolished to make room for the elementary school.

The school, which has 510 students from prekindergarten to eighth grade, needs a gym, Brett said.

"Our children are out in the hot Florida sun and on rainy days there is no gym period," said Brett, whose husband, Timothy, and son, Tom, are St. Jude's alumni.

The new construction also will benefit groups outside the St. Jude's school community.

"I don't think that people are aware that once a week, from September to May, 300-plus children use our campus for religious education," Brett said.

The students attend public school and take religious classes at St. Jude's in the evenings, she said.

"Also, we have a parish family religious education program that occurs on the weekend. The children use the school. We have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts that would like to use our facility. We want to be a good partner in the community, and developing a safe, secure and impenetrable environment will allow us to be a good neighbor," she said.

No decisions have been made about where students will study while the new classrooms are being built, but portables are being considered, Brett said.

The parish has hired Ajax Building Corp., the same company responsible for the recently completed Gibbs High School, for the project. The architect is Portela & Associates Architecture Planning of Tampa.

[Last modified May 18, 2005, 00:50:19]