The Sisters of Providence have moved ahead with a number of major renovation/repair projects in recent months.

de Paul Center:
The second floor of the de Paul Center in West Springfield is being readied for occupancy by the building’s newest tenant, the Center for Human Development (CHD). The general contractor anticipates a November completion. The 78,000 square foot de Paul Center houses a variety of services for elders, including a PACE program whose services will be integrated with Hillside Residence, 36-units affordable housing currently under construction on the same site.

The demolition phase of the second floor project involved the removal of doors and the breakdown of concrete walls related to former individual bathrooms and closets. Heating, lighting and other fixtures were recycled. Current work involves a complete upgrade of the building’s plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as new carpeting and painting.

CHD expects to employ a staff of about 50 there, according to John Wesolowski, the Congregation’s CFO and Sisters of Providence Ministry Corporation’s Director of Operations. The project also calls for the creation of a new, 42-car, adjacent parking lot for CHD staff that will be completed in the next few months.

Pictured above: Sisters of Providence President Kathleen Popko and Providence Place’s Director of Plant Operations Roger Korell tour the second floor of the de Paul Center during its demolition phase for the new CHD Offices.

Calvary Cemetery:
Another of the Congregation’s projects, completed in September, was the installation of an underground sprinkler system in the Congregation’s Calvary Cemetery on Lower Westfield Road, Holyoke.

Previous Cemetery work included the addition of Foundress Mother Mary of Providence Horan’s birth and death dates on her headstone, and the removal of a storage area on the Cemetery property.

Pictured above: Mother Mary of Providence’s birth and death dates are now inscribed on the SP Foundress’ headstone.

Community House:
Also, the final touches have been put on the Sisters’ Community House in Groton Long Point, CT. In recent months, the house was refurbished with new flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, new carpeting, and painting throughout.