CREATE signs lease in former convent building
Metro Wire Staff
CREATE Portage County will soon have a new home for its IDEA Center.
Greg Wright, executive director of CREATE, said on Tuesday that the organization has signed a 30-year lease for the Idea Center, and will relocate into the former Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis Motherhouse Chapel on Maria Dr.
The 30-year lease is part of an agreement the Sisters reached with General Capital Group, the development firm out of Milwaukee that will convert the remaining portions of the building into senior apartments.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled about this opportunity,” said Vice President and Sister Michelle Wronkowski, SSJ-TOSF. “Education and inclusion are what originally brought our Sisters to Stevens Point. We have been watching CREATE do important work in our community. This transition will connect the vital energy of our ancestors in faith with the challenges and opportunities in the present to best serve this community.”
Forty-six sisters originally left Milwaukee in 1901 to establish what is now the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis Congregation.
In May,1967 the Sisters celebrated the dedication of their new St Joseph Convent Chapel. St Joseph Chapel features beautiful stained-glass windows, designed by Sister Mary Laureen, depicting St. Francis’ “Canticle of the Sun” and the Joys of Mary and Joseph. For over 30 years the vibrant Newman Catholic Community celebrated Mass, Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals in this sacred Chapel.
Over the last 120 years, hundreds of sisters lived, prayed and were sent on mission from The St. Joseph Motherhouse.
“It was important that we transition our ministry and legacy to the next generation of residents into an intergenerational community,” said Wronkowski. “When the opportunity to work with CREATE emerged, we began to imagine our beloved Chapel energized by hosting a variety of groups – innovators, artists, entrepreneurs, educators and inspirational leaders – promoting new life, a lively spirit throughout Portage County.”
“This is both an honor and an opportunity,” said Greg Wright, executive director of CREATE. “To have the Sisters endorse and support our work in this way is incredibly humbling. Now we are thinking through the best ways to share this resource with the community so that we can support even more people and projects.”
The agreement will position CREATE to manage both the chapel and the cafeteria space directly below it. The footprint comprises about 27,000 square feet of the facility and includes a commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, and large community gathering spaces.
CREATE plans to move its IDEA Center into this location and will prioritize flexibility and support for creative community projects.
The repurposed facility will include expanded co-working, event, retreat, meeting, performance, and maker spaces and will address the lack of winter-friendly community gathering spaces in Portage County.
“We have so many great greenspaces here,” said Wright, “but the community often feels cut off from one another during colder months. We hope people will see this space as a shared community living room and use it not just to get work done but to spend more time together.”
CREATE is still in conversations with potential partners and users to finalize their designs. A capital campaign to raise funds for activation will be forthcoming.
The redevelopment project is leveraging both historic tax credits and support for community-serving facilities. As such, designs will maintain architecturally significant sections of the building like the chapel.
By working with CREATE, General Capital Group was able to meet both of these requirements and increase support for the redevelopment project.
“Often in projects like this, it is hard to pull all the pieces together,” said Sig Strautmanis, project lead for General Capital. “The Sisters’ idea to work with CREATE strengthened our application. It put an established community-serving organization with a solid business plan at the center of this new space.”
Renovations are already underway with a targeted open date of late 2022 or early 2023. CREATE and General Capital Group will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on site at 4 PM on April 26th.
To learn more about CREATE and its IDEA Center, visit createportagecounty.org. For more information on the housing opportunities, contact Jen Able at 715-344-1810.