Community Corner
$1 Million Renovation Coming to Franciscan Life Center
The facility on the Cheshire-Meriden line has outgrown its current needs and approval from the Planning and Zoning Department this week will allow the center to expand by 6,000 square feet.
This story was written and reported by editor Jason Vallee.
The Franciscan Life Center has grown in recent years and with the need to expand, recent approval will bring a new facility further into town.
The center received approval this week for a $1 million expansion, bringing a new 6,000 square foot chapel to the Cheshire side of the campus, according to staff with the Cheshire Planning and Zoning Department. The expansion will provide new opportunities for the growing facility.
The campus, belonging to the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, is located on Finch Avenue with the primary entrance in Meriden, but the expansion will be strictly on the Cheshire side of the campus, according to plans submitted to the department.
“We’re very happy,” Sister Suzanne Gross told the Cheshire Citizen this week. “Next we need to talk with a contractor. We hope to get started soon.”
According to plans submitted to the Cheshire Planning and Zoning Department, the chapel for the nuns currently seats just 48 people and more space is needed for the institution. The new facility will incorporate the existing chapel and includes plans that would expand the center to include the old chapel as a more intimate setting for ceremonies or as a meeting room that would seat approximately 60 people.
The existing chapel has been on that spot since 1988, a year after the original chapel burned to the ground. The campus was first founded in 1974 with previous expansion about 17 years ago.
According to the Franciscan Life Center website, the center is run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, whose international headquarters or "motherhouse" is located just a few blocks away on Allen Avenue in Meriden.
It offers a large variety of faith-based wellness programs for all ages and now serves approximately 1,500 individuals and families monthly. Youth services include school retreats and outdoor programs. There are individual, marital, family and group counseling sessions, leadership workshops, outdoor volunteer programs, adoption services and a pro-life ministry that educates and lobbies against abortion. There is also a small nursing home community located on the grounds.
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