Master Building Plan - Parish and School

We have created a unified Master Building Plan for the expansion of both Pope John XXIII school and St. Bernadette Parish facilities. The school was officially incorporated into the St. Bernadette Parish last year, so now we have a combined plan. All of this plan is expected to be completed in the next eight years.

The Master Plan includes the following phases:

1. Construction of the school gymnasium/community center building
2. Reconfiguration of parking and a new driveway onto Kings Avenue
3. Construction of the St. Bernadette church
4. Addition of the second stories on the school multi-purpose and administration buildings,
5. Expansion of the parish administrative offices
6. Renovation of the parish hall

View the revised Master Plan diagram showing the new location of the future church.

Also see answers to Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

To develop this plan, Fr. Pete has brought together representatives from the parish and school administrations, the building committee, parish finance council and school finance committee, parish council and school advisory board and the parish community. The Buildings and Property department for the Diocese of Phoenix also provides guidance and technical assistance.

Although it is difficult to estimate the cost of building the church, or any later phase of the construction without preliminary designs, it is likely to cost approximately $6-8 million to construct a church building that will seat an estimated 1100 people.  After having paid off the debt on the current parish hall and buildings, the building and maintenance fund for the church has approximately 10% of this estimated cost.

Phase I - School Gymnasium/Community Center Building

We are happy to announce that we will begin construction on the new Pope John XXIII Gymnasium/Community Center building in May 2010. Planning has been under way for several years and we have finished the architectural plans. Building construction will take approximately nine months, with major construction occurring in the summer.

Prior to the incorporation of the school into St. Bernadette, the school had already developed expansion plans and established a substantial building fund. The school has also raised over $1.3 million in funding and pledges specifically for this school building. No money from the church building and maintenance fund being used for the gymnasium/community center.

This new building will be located where the current blacktop playground is today, preserving the entire field for outdoor sports and activities. The building will feature a full-size basketball court and can be used for a variety of other sports and other activities. The main floor will have foldout bleachers on one side. It can also be used as two smaller basketball courts for P.E. activities.

The building includes a full-sized theater-quality stage at the north end for drama activities, concerts and other major events (graduation, Holy Day overflow Masses, parish social events, etc.). The main floor will seat approximately 400 people with round tables and over 700 people with chairs and arranged in rows.

View the Gymnasium Building Floor Plan and see 3-D Sketches of the Building.