Pa. Episcopal Church Cathedral to Break Ground on $110 Million Project
A Pennsylvania Episcopal church body will soon undergo a major two-pronged construction project with an estimated price tag of $110 million.
The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral plans to hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the project on Thursday afternoon, with a request on their website that guests RSVP for the occasion.
One part of the project will focus on the Cathedral Center and the other part will focus on an apartment tower financially connected to the Cathedral. The Very Rev. Judith A. Sullivan, dean of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, told The Christian Post that the immense funding has been secured.
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"Both projects are fully funded and are jointly proceeding. For the apartment tower our development partner, Radnor Property Group, was responsible for procuring debt and equity for the this $96 million project," said Sullivan. "The Cathedral Center's $14 million in costs is funded with the Cathedral's own capital sources and with creative financing using federal New Markets Tax Credits."
Sullivan also told CP about the details of the project, with the new construction totaling 326,000 square feet and including a 25-story residential tower.
"This is a two-pronged project where the land is owned by the Cathedral and is leased separately to two separate ownership entities," said Sullivan. "One, an apartment tower known as 38 Chestnut, financed in a joint venture with our development partner, Radnor Property Group; and the other known as the Cathedral Center which is owned by the Cathedral and financed with New Markets Tax Credits as a vital community resource development."
According to its website, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral serves as the "spiritual and liturgical home for the 144 congregations that comprise the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania."
"After the ancient pattern of the Church, the Cathedral offers a sacred place where the Diocese may draw together across parish boundaries and divisions of many kinds to worship in the beauty of holiness and to offer the best of ourselves before God," reads the entry. "As the seat of the Bishop, Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral hosts Diocesan liturgies including ordinations and rites of initiation on major feast days, Epiphany, Easter Vigil, and Ascension, and is the frequent site of the Diocesan annual convention."
Founded in 1855 and originally named the Church of the Saviour, Philadelphia Episcopal became the cathedral for the Pennsylvania Diocese in 1992.
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral's sanctuary underwent a renovation project in the early 2000s that included installing a metal frame and removing the pews.
This restoration garnered much controversy in the city of brotherly love, where some people claimed that the restoration went too far in the changes made to the facility.
