Archdiocesan offices to move south to Cambie

January 12, 2015
The B.C. Catholic
John Paul II Pastoral Centre
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Page S1
BUILDING NEW BEGINNINGS
JOHN PAUL II PASTORAL CENTRE
Archdiocesan offices to move south to Cambie area
New structure at the corner of Willow St. and W. 33rd Ave. will include a retired priests’ residence
A
By Alistair Burns
fter a decade of
conversations and
long-term planning,
the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s offices will soon move
out of the downtown core
and into a new building near
Queen Elizabeth Park.
“We’ve known for a long
time that the building was no
longer suitable for use as the
administrative headquarters
of the archdiocese,” said Paul
Schratz, director of the Communications Office.
That structure, originally
a warehouse for electrical
goods, needs maintenance and
repair. In the last few years,
he quipped, “We’ve had to
stick people in little cubbyholes wherever we could find
them.”
Dan Moric, the archbishop’s delegate for administration, said the building at 150
Robson St. was “never built
or designed with our intended
use in mind.”
Parking is also a major
hassle downtown. Schratz
said the new building at the
corner of Willow Street and
West 33rd Avenue, on the site
of the old St. Vincent’s Hospital, will have better parking
options.
He also mentioned many
positives of working on Robson Street: Holy Rosary Cathedral is a 10-minute walk
away, lots of restaurants and
coffee shops are nearby, there
is close access to news media,
and there are plenty of transit
options.
Plans afoot
The communications director laid out the various options that rested in the hands
of a three-clergyman steering
committee: Archbishop J.
Michael Miller, CSB; Msgr.
Stephen Jensen, now Bishop
of Prince George; and archdiocesan building commission chairman Father Stanley
Galvon.
The first option was to stay
somewhere downtown, perhaps at the site of a renovated
Holy Rosary Cathedral. John
Clark, the new building’s architect, did a study of the ca-
ignated a heritage building,
Amacon is limited in its options to redevelop the site.
Clergy home
Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic
The John Paul II Pastoral Centre at Willow Street and West 33rd Avenue will cost
about $25 million. Paul Schratz, communications director, said it made sense to
move, because of the “cost of downtown land and the parking situation.”
thedral site over a decade ago.
Bishop Jensen told The
B.C. Catholic that redevelopment of Holy Rosary would
have been a “very complex
and lengthy process.” Meanwhile, an empty St. Vincent
hospital site beckoned. A
building there could be “designed from the ground up,”
he said
“When you look at the
cost of downtown land and
the parking situation, it made
more sense” to use the St. Vin-
cent’s site, Schratz said.
The new archdiocesan
headquarters is the second
stage in a “campus of care”
developed by Providence
Health Care and the archdiocese. The first stage was the
St. Vincent’s Honoria Conway assisted living residence
for seniors.
Since the old hospital site
was leased to Providence
Health Care, the two organizations went to the City of
Vancouver to apply to rezone
the site.
Moving costs
Schratz estimated the new
building will cost $25 million,
including the retired priests’
residence. There will be a $4
million contribution by the
St. Joseph Society for retired
priests.
Most of this bill will be
paid by the sale of 150 Robson Street to Amacon, a real
estate developer.
Since 150 Robson is des-
Moric said the clergy residence will “stand as a tangible
expression of care and respect” for priests.
Schratz joked that he
would miss little about 150
Robson after 18 years, including “an old freight elevator
that’s like something out of a
1940s suspense movie,” and
“an alarm system I’ve accidentally set off too many
times.”
Instead, the new building
offers modern phone service,
wi-fi Internet, and many meeting rooms.
When the move is complete, Moric hopes his fellow
employees will be able to
say this change of environment has “contributed to their
workplace health and happiness and has better positioned
them to effectively serve the
faithful.”
aburns@rcav.org q
Page S2
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The B.C. Catholic
John Paul II Pastoral Centre
January 12, 2015
BUILDING NEW BEGINNINGS
JOHN PAUL II PASTORAL CENTRE
Pastoral centre construction faced many challenges
Some of the ground was unstable; spill gates, canals, and retention tank used to collect rain water
D
By Alistair Burns
espite years of meticulous planning,
the work site at
33rd Avenue and Willow
Street provided a unique
challenge for hard-hatted
labourers.
The workers tasked to
build the new John Paul II
pastoral centre had to deal
with a massive slab of unearthed concrete, lay out a
system of canals and spill
gates to siphon off rain,
and acquiesce to the city of
Vancouver’s demands for a
so-called “green roof.”
Many workers
Dan Aird, the project
superintendent for Ventana
Construction Corporation,
provided insights into the
process. Between 140 and
170 workers suited up and
came onto the site daily.
They included electricians,
roofers, plumbers, glazers, tillers, painters, waterproofers, and civil contractors.
Aird estimated the hard
hats put in an average of
27,000 working hours a
month. “Access was very
difficult,” since the city of
Vancouver was repaving
33rd Avenue at the same
time.
“We found unstable
ground for the building at
the north end,” he recalled.
In order to reinforce the
area, labourers backfilled
the area with recycled
concrete, which delayed
the opening date by a few
weeks.
Overall, they used 5,550
cubic metres of concrete,
or “550 truck loads of concrete,” for the new building.
St. Vincent’s block
Also, they uncovered the
final hurrah of the old St.
Dan Aird / Special to The B.C. Catholic
Dan Aird / Special to The B.C. Catholic
To meet the challenge of excessive rainfall, the labourers of Ventana Construction
Corp. built a water retention tank in July 2014 and buried it underneath the work
site. After the rainwater was collected, it was pumped into a treatment tank, then
transferred to the city’s storm drain.
A worker stands beside a 50,000 pound concrete slab.
The colossal footing, five feet tall, 10 feet wide, and
five feet long, had to be jackhammered into smithereens for removal.
Vincent’s Hospital, the site
of the John Paul II Pastoral
Centre: a colossal concrete
footing, a “block that’s five
feet tall, 10 feet wide, and
five feet in length.”
It “weighed over 50,000
pounds, which made it very
difficult to handle.” Aird
called for a jackhammer;
workers slowly broke up
the massive slab and hauled
the chunks away in trucks.
In regard to safety, the
superintendent said they
erected four stories of scaffolding on the north-west
side, where the apartments
for retired clergy are situated, and another six stories
of scaffolding on the southwest side.
“It’s probably more
windows than walls,” Aird
said, summing up the building’s look.
thumbs-up to the decision that saved redwood
trees from being chopped
down; the building site was
pushed back from the Willow Street corner at 33rd
After the deluge
The Ventana team had
to brainstorm two separate ways to deal with the
constant downpour of rain.
First they buried a tank underneath the site to collect
the rainfall.
The water was pumped
into a treatment tank, and
transferred by three twoinch pumps into the city’s
storm drain on 33rd Avenue. The hard hats created
rock berms and laid down
sandbags to create an impromptu canal system, with
a spill gate.
Green roof
Amber Paul, a landscape
architect with the firm of
Durante Kreuk Ltd., explained the eco-friendly
approach that the City of
Vancouver wants for new
structures.
There will be a so-called
“green roof” to provide
heat reflection on top of the
clergy housing apartments.
A concrete slab is covered
with insulation, a drainage
mat, and on top, a threeinch “lightweight growing
medium,” called sedum,
which will hold minerals
and water.
Paul explained sedum
is “similar to turf, in the
concept of a mat.” The
plants will not need “a lot
of water after the first few
years,” and storm water retention was also built into
the system, along with roof
drainage. Installation took
a week.
She gave another green
Avenue.
“They [the archdiocese]
gave up a lot of land,” Paul
pointed out. “They should
be commended.”
aburns@rcav.org q
ADVERTORIAL
Thank you to the archdiocese
I
t has been a tremendous honour and privilege to serve His Grace, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver as architect for
the John Paul II Pastoral Centre.
John Clark Architect Inc. would like to
thank the archdiocesan staff, volunteer committee members, donors, the City of Vancouver Planning Department, and a long list of
behind-the-scenes individuals who made this
project possible and a monumental achievement.
We endured and faced constant technical
hurdles and bureaucratic red tape, but in the
end, after much perseverance and prayer, we
can now reflect upon those days with pride
and thanksgiving.
When you walk through the doors of the
new John Paul II Pastoral Centre, the most
awesome aspect of that experience is not the
building itself but rather the work that will
carry on from 150 Robson St.
Yes this is a very modern, sleek, and efficient facility which will serve the RCAV for
many years to come, but the star of the show
is actually the staff, His Grace, and the work
they will do here. Through their dedication
and devotion to serve, my sense of purpose as
an architect for this project is fulfilled.
I am grateful knowing that beyond architectural aesthetics, ingenuity, and the bells and
whistles, this building has a much greater purpose and higher calling.
Sincerely,
John Clark, Architect AIBC, AIA q
January 12, 2015
The B.C. Catholic
JOHN PAUL II PASTORAL CENTRE
John Paul II Pastoral Centre |
Page S3
BUILDING NEW BEGINNINGS
Archbishop fields questions about new building
T
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
he archbishop says
it’s time to move
out of the former
electrical warehouse that
the archdiocesan offices
have called home for more
than 50 years. Within the
next three months, the John
Paul II Pastoral Centre will
pack up and move south to
a shiny new location near
33rd Avenue and Willow
Street in Vancouver.
Archbishop J. Michael
Miller, CSB, sat down with
The B.C. Catholic to talk
about how the move will affect employees and the people in the pews.
The B.C. Catholic: Why
is the John Paul II Pastoral
Centre moving from 150
Robson Street to 4885 Saint
John Paul II Way?
Archbishop Miller: I
guess the major reason is
that we’ve been at this location for 60 years and, although it has served very
well, the building was never
designed for the purposes
it has filled wonderfully
throughout the years.
It’s totally handicap-inaccessible. It doesn’t foster
a collaborative working environment because we’re all
divided up into these separate little places.
We were able to put up a
new facility and at the same
time fulfill a second need,
QA
&
to provide senior housing
for our retired priests. Putting the two together on the
site on land which we did
not have to purchase; it was
simply the right time. People have been talking about
it for many years.
BCC: What are some
benefits of the new location,
just down the street from
Queen Elizabeth Park?
AM: For one thing, there
will be more parking. It is
just as accessible since it’s
on the Canada Line. There
is bus service. For people
coming from the south,
it’s more accessible than
bothering to come to the
downtown corridor. I think,
frankly, it’s more accessible
because you don’t have to
come downtown.
The big thing is the
(housing for) retired priests.
It’s also a far better and
far healthier, in every sense
of the word, working environment. It fosters a more
collaborative and cooperative atmosphere because it’s
far more open.
BCC: How will the move
affect the average Catholic
in the pews on Sunday?
AM: The archdiocese
Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, breaks ground at the new location for the John Paul II Pastoral Centre Aug.
29, 2013. The centre, to be complete this spring, will contain offices, a chapel, meeting rooms, and nine suites
for retired priests.
will continue to render the
same services. We’re not
adding services provided to
the parishes in any sense, so
I think it should be a pretty
seamless transition.
BCC: What changes are
in store for the people who
come to the archdiocese
Men’s shelter to get new home
T
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
he Catholic Charities Men’s Hostel
will soon have a new
location to serve the 2,000
guests who sleep there every year, but the location is
still unknown.
“The nest has left us,”
said Scott Small, the director of Shelter Services in the
archdiocese.
When the shelter finds a
new home, it will be the first
time it is separate from the
chancery since it opened on
the third floor of the building at 150 Robson St. in
1959.
The archdiocese has sold
that building and will move
its offices outside downtown to a new location near
Holy Name of Jesus Parish
this spring. By March 31,
when ownership transfers to
Amacon, the development
company that bought the
building, the hostel will also
need a new home.
Francis Wong, the director of finance for the archdiocese, said Amacon is “obligated to provide us with
a new space” for the Men’s
Hostel. “Where, when, and
how, we don’t know.”
Though its future is
largely unknown, Small has
revealed some of his hopes
for the Men’s Hostel: longer
stays, services geared toward seniors, and a chapel.
“At least 55 per cent of
our guests are 50 plus,” he
said, adding he hopes access
to the new space won’t require a hike up three storeys
of stairs.
Guests in the 102-bed
facility may currently stay
at the hostel for up to three
months. Small said it’s an
improvement to the single
night, 60 day, and 90 day
policies it has gone through
over the years, but some
guests could do with a little
more time. Small said the
hostel hosts about 2,000
homeless men each year.
“You have to have a good
relationship with the shelter crew,” to stay resolved
to fight drug addictions, he
said.
The hostel currently has
crucifixes above doorways,
weekly visits from priests,
and Catholic movie nights
on Fridays. “The new shelter will definitely have a
chapel,” he added.
akrawczynski@rcav.org q
regularly for meetings?
AM: That’s a big benefit.
There’s a large hall that will
be able to seat 200 people
and is more open to diocesan use. That’s a nice feature. The chapel is bigger.
It’s not huge, but for 50 or
60 people. There’s a lot of
meeting space.
See next week for part
two of this interview. q
Page S4
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The B.C. Catholic
John Paul II Pastoral Centre
JOHN PAUL II PASTORAL CENTRE
January 12, 2015
BUILDING NEW BEGINNINGS
Staff recall history of John Paul II Pastoral Centre
Historic building on 15O Robson Street witnessed important moments, made film appearances
T
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
he headquarters of
the archdiocese have
stood in the midst of
bustling business people, football enthusiasts, and panhandlers for more than 50 years.
Its employees organized
Pope John Paul II’s visit in
1984, welcomed hordes of
fans during the Olympics in
2010, and watched Pope Francis’s election on TV in 2013.
As they prepare for the
John Paul II Pastoral Centre’s imminent move from the
downtown core, employees
are sharing their recollections
about the historic building at
150 Robson St.
Connection
“All the memories that
keep coming to mind are
pertaining to the role this
building has in connection
with the neighbourhood,”
said communications director
Paul Schratz, who has worked
there since 1997.
During the Olympics,
“the whole downtown was
transformed.” The John Paul
II Pastoral Centre began
sporting three flags: B.C.’s,
Canada’s, and Vatican City’s,
and welcoming fans inside for
hot drinks and big screens to
watch the action.
“It was a real moment of
outreach,” Schratz said. Other
places of outreach included
the St. Vincent de Paul Salvage Bureau, which operated
for many years in the basement, and the men’s shelter,
which has been on the third
floor for 55 years.
Controller George Pinto
in the finance office said the
downtown
neighbourhood
was significantly seedier
when he first set foot in it 30
years ago. “Robson Street
was not how you see it now.
It was gas stations and dilapidated buildings all the way
from Granville Street down to
here.”
Atmosphere
Working in the core of the
city meant dealing with some
of its most desperate people,
and in those days security was
minimal or nonexistent. “I
had a person come and put a
gun at me once,” Pinto said.
A man approached him,
asked him for money, and
threatened him with a gun he
claimed to have in his pocket.
“He started fiddling and I
started saying my prayers!”
The building used to have
a cafeteria, where staff and
men from the hostel could
purchase bacon sandwiches
and coffee for $1.50. There
was also a library where
anyone from the street could
browse.
“The atmosphere was different. It was very casual,”
Pinto reflected.
The new building, constructed to fit the Gold standard in Leadership in Environmental Design, will have
a far more professional feel
than the current building, a
former electrical warehouse.
“I’ve been there and it’s
very high-tech. The offices are
very nice,” Pinto said.
Teresa Rigg, administrative assistant for the Life,
Marriage, and Family Office,
agreed. “I will miss the downtown scene,” she said, but
“will love a shining new place
with every conceivable up-todate electronic device.”
Cinema
While the warehouse’s interior doesn’t lend itself easily
to office work, its brick exterior has been the envy of many
movie directors.
Catechetics director Patrick Gillespie remembers
“watching director Wych Kaosayananda and crew set up
filming in the basement loading bays, with Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu rehearsing
in the basement.”
Cameras have also caught
the archdiocesan offices while
filming a car explode in the
alley.
Though the building was
first blessed Dec. 27, 1959,
Gillespie recounted a more
recent and less solemn sprinkling. It involved “two super
soakers, multiple small water
guns, a couple of umbrellas, and an unnamed nowbishop of another diocese,”
he laughed. “And no, Father,
now Bishop, was not blessing
the building.”
One thing will not change
with the move to the new
building on 33rd Avenue near
Cambie this spring: there will
still be a chapel.
“We’ve always had noon
Mass,” Schratz said. “That’s
something that has been a fix-
ture in this building. We’ll be
keeping that.”
akrawczynski@rcav.org q
BCC file photo
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, holds a meeting with more than 70 parish secretaries in the large meeting room Oct. 17, 2012.
Conclave
Kyle Neilson, the director
of the Adult Evangelization
and Discipleship Office of
the archdiocese, reminisced
about his favourite memory of
the nine and a half years he’s
worked for the archdiocese:
watching Pope Francis’s first
appearance.
“We all ran downstairs
when the white smoke went
up,” to watch the Holy Father on TV. “That was a pretty
powerful experience.”
Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic
Archdiocesan employees watch Pope Francis’s first appearance on TV and react
by cheering and researching the cardinal who was previously unknown to them.
Agnieszka Krawczynski / The B.C. Catholic
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, greets several Crossroads walkers before they
start a three-month walk across Canada for the pro-life cause.