Mooney plans $5 million renovation

By Denise Dick | April 28, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Cardinal Mooney High School is staying in the same place, but it’s getting an updated look and improved energy efficiency.

At the end of the school year, work will begin on a three-year, $5 million renovation project at the nearly 60-year-old school on the city’s South Side.

“It starts this summer with a new roof,” said P.J. Fecko, the school’s director of facilities.

Through the two subsequent summers, school officials plan new windows and building exterior, ventilation system, lighting, floors and ceiling.

“It’s the most significant renovation at Cardinal Mooney,” said the Rev. Gerald DeLucia, president. “This is historic for Cardinal Mooney.”

The renovations will improve efficiency, lower energy costs and make the school more environmentally friendly, Fecko said.

A multimillion-dollar donation from the Denise DeBartolo York and Eddie DeBartolo families sparked the project. Both DeBartolo York and DeBartolo are Mooney alumni.

That donation, the amount of which school officials declined to reveal at the families’ request, generated donations from other alumni and supporters, Fecko said. Donations continue to flow in.

Father DeLucia said the DeBartolo York/DeBartolo donation and those it inspired — including one $500,000 contribution from an anonymous donor — show the commitment to the tradition of Cardinal Mooney, its students and to Catholic education.

“We’re a faith-based school,” Father DeLucia said. “We believe faith is a critical element in a good education.”

The school educates students from different backgrounds, economic levels and religions.

“We’re all God’s family,” the school president said. “God unites — he doesn’t divide.”

Michael Latessa, Mooney vice president, said the project equips the high school for the next several years.

Besides the renovations, the DeBartolo York/DeBartolo donation provided funding for a new endowment.

“It will provide financial assistance for students who really want to come here,” Father DeLucia said.

With its endowment, the school hopes to provide help to all of the prospective students who need it, although full-tuition scholarships won’t be available for all, he said.

Principal Mark Vollmer said the renovation also will allow for technology updates at the school, which already offers Wi-Fi throughout.

The renovation project also includes improved handicapped-accessibility, adding four ramps and making four of the school’s 10 restrooms — some on each level — more handicapped-accessible.

Last year, Bishop George V. Murry announced that Mooney would stay in the city rather than relocate to the suburbs. There had been talk of moving to the southern part of Mahoning County, but the fundraising effort failed to generate the $23 million preliminary goal. Total cost of the new school was estimated at $34.5 million.

“This project shows that we are committed to the city,” Latessa said. “We’re committed to being an anchor in the city.”