BUILDING BLOCKS: St. Francis Convent

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Project name: St. Francis Convent

Address: 3221 South Lake Drive, St. Francis

Size: 133,000 square feet, 80 rooms

Start date: October 2017

Estimated completion date: Spring 2019

Owner: Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi

General Contractor: VJS Construction Services, Pewaukee

Lead Architect: Groth Design Group, Cedarburg

Significance to the region: The new convent is being built on the site of the former St. Mary’s Academy/Marian Center, and will consist of a memory-care unit and assisted-living and office space. Around the convent’s perimeter will be 80 rooms that will house sisters in need of memory care and assisted living. Nearer the center there will be community-gathering and dining spaces. Administrative offices will be on the second floor of a “town square,” a part of the building connecting its two wings. The project will reuse some building materials from the deconstructed academy building, including stained-glass windows, mosaics and a lintel. A bronze relief of St. Francis, now mounted on the facade of another building, will be placed on the new convent facing Lake Drive. Follow @alexzank