Religious

The historical centers of many Wisconsin cities are their churches. In many cases, being the oldest buildings in continuous use, they provide the element of continuity that spans generations. For this reason, maintaining the historic look of St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay was of paramount importance to the church’s committee members when they decided a major building addition was needed.
Zeise Construction was involved with this project from the preliminary design stage. We prepared budget estimates and helped with value engineering and owner direct purchase orders. Overall, this project consisted of a 2-story addition and the remodeling of a side Narthex. The addition houses large meeting rooms, a serving kitchen, restrooms, elevator addition and a foyer complete with Bishop Wycislo’s coat of arms laser cut into the tile floor. There is also a state of the art light filtered and climate controlled Diocesan Museum and Cultural Center to house over 700 religious artifacts dating back to the 19th century.

There were many factors that came into play when trying to blend the Bishop Wycislo Center addition to the existing church structure. In design and materials, with forms and brick colors, the elements of the original 1910 building were matched as much as possible. Distinctive corbelling of brick at the gable ends, piers, and over windows was duplicated. Size and arched forms of windows were copied and reproduced.
The detailed masonry work on this project won a Golden Trowel Award.

This project also won an AGC Build Wisconsin award and a City of Green Bay Mayor’s Beautification Award.