St. Leo’s Catholic Church is in the process of creating office space in its adjacent former school building.

“It’s a sound building,” said the Rev. Todd Kreitinger at St. Leo’s. There has been discussion over the years about finding a use for the building, but it was difficult to bring a plan to fruition, he said. There even was talk at one time of tearing the building down and creating parking space.

Kreitinger said the church felt a responsibility to preserve the building not only because of its historic value but because it is part of St. Leo’s legacy.

“They thought we need to use it for something, and what better, at least, to have offices and meeting rooms and conference rooms,” he said.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN A construction worker works Thursday, April 9, in an area of the former St. Leo’s school that will become an office once construction is completed in September.

He said the church has used its fellowship hall as multi-purpose space but now will be able to give the Knights of Columbus its own space. There will be rooms for prenuptial classes and baptismal or other religious classes, which currently must use the fellowship hall.

Church staff have temporarily relocated to the Main Medical Building during construction. They will move into the new office space when the project is completed at the end of September.

The remodeling is being accomplished splitting the high-ceiling gymnasium into an upper floor with office/conference space and lower portion for a new heating and cooling system and for storage.

As for the building’s upper two floors, those could be future projects someday.

“But right now, we just needed to at least make a start,” Kreitinger said.

This coming week, contractors will be demolishing a small brick building next to the school, once used as a maintenance garage, and later by Little Lions Daycare, and then for storage.

Rolac Contracting and other local subcontractors are working on the construction and architectural services were provided by Ackerman-Estvold.

The project includes a new facade for the front of the school building. The Minot City Council on Monday, April 6, approved the project for a forgivable loan of up to about $65,000 through the city’s Facade Improvement Program for downtown Minot.

The building’s facade is original but restorative brick work is required and windows need updating to bring the exterior back to its historic appearance, Kreitinger said. The plan is to replace all the facade windows, including the now boarded windows on the main floor and existing windows on the upper floors, to create a consistent look that is both authentic to the 1920s design and meets modern energy saving standards, he said.

An open house is likely once the construction is done, Kreitinger said.

St. Leo’s school opened in 1926, serving students through eighth grade. The school expanded to 12th grade in 1929 and graduated its first class in 1933. St. Leo’s closed in 2010 due to declining enrollment in the local Catholic school system and issues with the building.

Although it wasn’t part of the plan, Kreitinger said, the building’s renewal falls during the centennial year of Catholic education in Minot. Minot Catholic Schools is coordinating celebratory activities throughout the year.