Catholic Church to Build Chancery in Charleston

The old radio station property at the eastern end of Orange Grove Road will be the home of a new Chancery for the Catholic Diocese of Charleston.

The Church finalized the purchase of the property this past week. The Diocese paid $1,050,000 for the 26.5 acre tract overlooking the Ashley River. Most of the land, 21.7 acres will remain marshland, according to a press release issued by the Diocese.

"This is exciting news for the diocese," said the Most Reverend Robert E. Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston, according to the release. "Our new Chancery will consolidate operations which are currently in five different buildings scattered across the Charleston area. It will accommodate the needs of our growing diocese."

The Church plans to build a 30,000-square-foot building to house the bishop's office, diocesan offices, an assembly hall, a chapel and at least one conference room with video conferencing capabilities, according to the release. Construction will begin in 2013 with completion scheduled for 2014.

The building will be constructed on the 4.75 acres not considered marshlands, and the Church plans to make the structure environmentally friendly by pursuing LEED certification for the new Chancery. It will work with an arborist to ensure the trees and wetlands on the site are protected during construction.

Overall construction costs for the project have not been determined yet, according to the release.

The Charleston Diocese was founded in 1820 by Pope Pius VII and is one of the oldest in the United States. St. Luke's Catholic Church in Easley is one of the diocese parishes.