CHARLOTTE — Visitors and passersby will notice big changes to the Monsignor Allen Center on the St. Ann Parish campus, nestled along the Park Road corridor.
The 24,349-square-foot parish activity center has undergone a $2.4 million renovation, changing the appearance both inside and out.
Most notable is a new brick exterior, which was necessary to replace the 29-year-old center’s deteriorating façade.
Inside, the upstairs rooms have been refinished, and flooring and paint throughout the building have been updated.
The building houses the parish offices and classrooms for parish and community meetings. It also serves as the kitchen, cafeteria and gymnasium for St. Ann School.
The Monsignor Allen Center is a hub for activities at the adjacent St. Ann School. St. Ann School is one of nine Charlotte-area schools in the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools system.
Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Parish and vicar of education for the diocese’s 19 Catholic schools, said renovating the parish activity center has been a project needing attention for quite some time.
“While we haven’t added any new space to the building, we’ve reconfigured our office space a bit to make it more usable for our staff, and we’ve brightened up the interior of the whole building – making it a much more inviting place for all who use it,” Father Reid said.
He noted that some long-standing problems with the building, which was built in 1993, were corrected and that completing these necessary fixes ensures that the activity center will be able to serve the parish and school community for years to come.
“We’re a very busy and thriving parish, and this building is the hub of much of our activity. Renovating the activity center is a way we are striving to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us, while also providing for the needs of our community,” he said.
Due to the extensive site work required, a new Marian grotto in honor of Our Lady of Fatima will be completed this summer. Located adjacent to the Allen Center, it will serve as an outdoor devotional space for parishioners and the school.
“The grotto portion of the project will be complete in May and includes the final paving and landscaping in front of the main entry,” said Emmett Sapp, the diocese’s construction manager. “When the grotto is complete, the whole plaza area is going to be beautiful.”
—SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter