Interior work set to begin on Assumption

The next phase in the painstaking restoration of Assumption Church is expected to start after Easter, although the timing of subsequent steps is dependent on one major factor: donations.

“The constraint we’re operating under is that before we can contract the work, we have to have the money in hand, in the bank, to pay for it. We’re not in a position where we’re going to permit the parish to incur any debt,” Paul Mullins, chairman of the restoration campaign, told reporters Monday after members of the city’s development and heritage standing committee were given a progress report.

“So the quickness that we can move with the work is totally dependent on how quick we can get the donors.”

Mullins said the $1.6-million first phase of the project is complete, paid for and $60,000 under budget. Phase 1 involved installation of a new copper roof, asbestos abatement, a new hot-water heating system, upgrading the fire-alarm system and replacing the unexpectedly hazardous electrical system, which was basically a bunch of extension cords strung in the crawl space under the church.

Phase 2 is interior rehabilitation, specifically restoration of the ceiling plaster, which is cracking and in danger of total separation from its wooden lath. The $3.3 million to $3.4 million in restoration work is divided into three sections. Mullins hopes to start the east aisle after Easter. About 80 per cent of the $1.45-million required for that work is already in hand.

If funding continues to flow as hoped, the plaster restoration in the west aisle would start in the fall, followed by the centre aisle next spring.

Built between 1842 and 1845, the current church is the fourth to serve the parish, which is Ontario’s first Roman Catholic parish (founded in 1767) and the oldest in Canada west of Montreal. Following the collapse of a previous fundraising campaign, Assumption was closed because of its deteriorating condition in 2014. It reopened for its first mass in five years on Sept. 8.

Phase 3 involves restoration of the brick and masonry. Phase 4 involves rebuilding the sacristy, as well as restoration work on the Rosary Chapel and stained glass.

The City of Windsor gave $250,000 last year for Phase 1.

“Hundreds and hundreds of individuals have donated for this project and the interest and support is ongoing,” Mullins told committee members Monday.