Ursuline motherhouse plans open house
Staff report
CANFIELD
The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown will host an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. next Sunday at the Motherhouse, 4250 Shields Road, for its Reconfiguration Project.
Visitors may tour the newly established living spaces, handicapped-accessible bathrooms and common spaces, which were created to make better use of the building.
New plumbing, electrical components and heating and ventilation systems are updating the nearly 50-year-old building’s infrastructure.
The $1.7 million project is being funded by the Sisters with the help of donations from area supporters. The project began last May. BSHM Architects Inc., Youngstown, has designed and is implementing the project.
Another aspect of the reconfiguration will include the relocation of the administrative offices to the Motherhouse to allow more ministry space in their adjoining educational wing, The Ursuline Center. The relocation will cost about $200,000.
In May, construction begins on Phase II of the Reconfiguration Project, which is the establishment of 12 apartments for senior citizens of limited income.
This $1.2 million project will create a dozen barrier-free apartments with private bathrooms as well as a lounge, storage and mechanical spaces in The Ursuline Center, which will provide housing for local senior citizens of moderate Social Security income.
Eleven of the apartments will be one-bedroom, single-occupancy options, and one will be a two- bedroom, dual-occupancy apartment. This phase is expected to be completed in 2013.
Refreshments will be served.
The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, who have served the Mahoning Valley since 1874, are Catholic nuns who respond to meet the most critical needs of people.
Ministries include the founding of and continuing educational endeavors at Ursuline High School, Youngstown Community School and Millcreek Children’s Center, Ursuline Preschool and Kindergarten, HIV/AIDS Ministry, Beatitude House for homeless women and their children, and Potter’s Wheel, which helps disadvantaged women succeed through educational and employment assistance.