North Huntingdon Catholic parish seeks to build new office building
A North Huntingdon church wants to build a 3,500-square-foot building on its property to replace an office that was on a parcel the church sold in November.
The North Huntingdon Planning Commission will not make any decision until March on whether to recommend approval of the site plans for a one-story metal office building on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church’s property along Leger Road. The parish will continue work to complete plans for the project. The planning commission is an advisory board for the township commissioners.
The site plan was deficient because it failed to show the location and dimensions of all the buildings on the property, and it lacked details of the interior office space, Donald Housley, a consulting engineer with R. F. Mitall & Associates Inc. of Plum, this week told Joseph Fisher, a design construction manager for MCMP of Fox Chapel, which developed the plans.
Landscaping details were needed, and the Westmoreland County Conservation District must approve the plans, Housley added.
Fisher promised at the meeting Monday to present the revised plans to the commission in March because “time is crucial.” The church wants to move on the project this spring, and construction of the office building could be completed within two months, Fisher said.
The metal building, which is to be built across the parking lot from the church, will have some type of split stone face for the bottom three feet of the structure, Fisher said.
About three to five people will work in the building, including the church’s priest, the Rev. John Moineau, Fisher said. The office will not be open during weekend Masses, Fisher said.
The building project will cost about $400,000, and the church hopes to have it completed this spring, Moineau said Tuesday.
Fisher declined to comment on the cost of the project.
The parish received $575,000 from the sale of 2.4 acres of its property to Waste Management Disposal Services of Pennsylvania in November.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.