Carriage House RenovationThe Carriage House is the former location of the parish office. The second floor and most of the ground floor is unsuitable for occupancy. The building was constructed in 1882 as the garage for the Gallegos family whose house and outbuildings occupied land along Mission Creek. The Carriage House is the last building remaining on site from the original Gallegos Estate. Because the Carriage House is one of the few remaining examples of 19th century board and batten siding remaining in the Mission San Jose Historic District, the city has designated it as a primary historic resource. The building may be difficult to demolish because of its city status. However, because the building interior has been extensively altered over the years, the Parish Facilities Team believes it may be possible to obtain city approval to change the building’s interior to make it more useful while preserving the building’s external appearance. Turning an Eyesore into an Asset The Carriage House is in terrible shape and needs extensive repairs. The parish office staff was relocated to Ministry House 2 at the beginning of 2022 for this reason. And our parish community needs more meeting and gathering space. A renovated Carriage House can help us meet these needs. Renovating the Carriage House could create a modern and welcoming parish office on the second floor, fully accessible by all parishioners and visitors by a new elevator, or it could provide offices and meeting rooms for use by ministries, the school, and parishioners. The ground floor could provide space for larger gatherings and a home for our Sunday Family of Faith Ministry. Our school students and parents could also use it for meetings and retreats. The drawings below show one possibility for how a renovated Carriage House might be configured. Next Steps This project is part of the updated Parish Master Plan. Renovation of St. Joseph Church remains our first priority. After the church renovation is completed we will consider moving forward with the Carriage House. Updates will be provided here when we know more. |
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