Amarillo—Once upon a time, there were two buildings at 1900 North Spring and at 2000 North Spring. Built 50 years apart, they served two different purposes.
At 1900 North Spring was the Price College Gymnasium, dedicated on Oct. 29, 1939 by then-Bishop Robert E. Lucey, which served as a volleyball and basketball home court for Price College, Alamo Catholic High School and Holy Cross Catholic Academy and hosted numerous diocesan functions (WTC 3/1/2015).
At 2000 North Spring was the Diocesan Activity Center, dedicated on Oct. 14, 1989 by then-Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen. The 12,000 square foot building was also used as a gathering place for numerous diocesan events, including receptions for ordained priests, Cursillo functions and most notably, the 65th anniversary celebration for the Diocese of Amarillo (WTC 9/1/91). Later it would be used by Catholic Family Services, the predecessor of Catholic Charities, as the Students Off the Streets (SOS) Center, before it was vacated over 10 years ago.
All these years later, the two buildings now have something in common: they both serve as part of the mission of Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle. Bishop Patrick J. Zurek will bless and dedicate the new buildings for the agency on Saturday, July 17 at 10:00am.
The former gymnasium is now the new home for the food pantry for CCTXP. The former activity center is now the offices for Catholic Charities.
What precipitated the need for Catholic Charities to move to these two buildings? “Several factors drove our need to move from our former location on Duniven Circle, said CCTXP executive director Jeff Gulde. “From a fiscal perspective, our lease expired on Dec. 31, 2020. The new lease included another significant increase in rent and locked us in for another two years. We would rather spend the money used for rent on our various programs, helping the poor, the at-risk and the under-served.
“Another factor was space. We experienced growth in some of our programs, and we needed more space to provide our services effectively. To preserve client privacy, we required a solution that did not overload office space with three or four staff members. While our board was wrestling with whether to move forward on the project now, the Holy Cross Catholic Academy gymnasium became available as they completed construction of their new event center in January 2020. This gave us the opportunity to achieve two things. First, we discovered significant cost savings renovating two buildings instead of a new construction addition to one. We also could focus our efforts on completing the food pantry renovation in time to move prior to the expiration of our lease. This critical piece allowed us to move forward.
“To explain in a little more detail, we knew office space for the other programs would be easier to secure in other places. However, the layout of the food pantry limited its potential locations to where it was and where it would be permanently. Food pantry space is not readily available in Amarillo. The final piece was funding secured by the Diocese as part of the “Prepare the Way Capital Campaign” which took place over the past several years. Without it, none of this would have been possible.
“Poverty exists all over the City of Amarillo, but now our footprint is right in the heart of an area suffering from a higher percentage. We are in the neighborhood of people who desperately need our assistance. Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle, formerly Catholic Family Service, started in 1932 to comfort the poor and alleviate poverty. We continue that work today.”
The challenge in moving Catholic Charities offices into a new building was in creating an environment for an agency that continues to grow, according to Gulde.
“The former activity center building was solidly built,” he said. “While the roof and exterior were admittedly an eyesore and in need of attention, the steel structure was rock-solid. Although the building’s skin was unappealing, it was in good enough shape that we covered it, inside and out, rather than removing and replacing it.
“With input from our team, the Board of Directors and a specially formed building committee, we designed an interior that provides a unique office space for every employee, file and storage space, meeting space, classroom space, an open area for gatherings and a little room to grow. All in all, our renovated building holds 18 offices, eight file or storage rooms, two mechanical rooms, a conference room, a classroom space that can be split in half, two restroom clusters, a catering kitchen or break room and an open concept gathering space.
“While some aspects of the outdoors remain undetermined, we are hoping for a garden space for employee, volunteer, or client respite, that could double as overflow space for organization events. The new administrative building will house our education programs, immigration services, refugee resettlement, administrative department and our fundraising team.”
The new food pantry building also provides additional space for the agency as well.
“The pantry piece of the puzzle covers nearly 80% of the gymnasium floor space,” Gulde said. “The newer part of the building, constructed in 1978 that housed a concession stand, trophy cases, official’s locker room and much more now contains three more offices, three file, storage, or work rooms, a break room, a smaller conference room, and ample reception seating for our clients. The new food pantry will also house our eyecare program, support staff for our low-income housing and of course, all facets of the food pantry.”
After dedication of the buildings, there will be non-alcoholic beverages and light hors d’oeuvres for guests. Tours of both buildings will be given to anyone interested. For additional information about Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle, please call Gulde at 806-376-4571.