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St. Jude’s education wing wins approval
St. Jude's wing
The Ceres Planning Commission had positive words about this proposal of St. Jude’s Catholic Church to build a 19,953-square-foot education wing.

A large project to expand St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Ceres with an education center was considered and approved by the Ceres Planning Commission on Monday.

The church on Mitchell Road wants to build a 19,953-square-foot facility with classrooms, event gathering hall, and kitchen which requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) under the terms of the Mitchell Road Corridor Specific Plan. The building will also include restroom facilities, an atrium, administrative offices, storage, and accessory rooms.

The new building will be located immediately east of the existing St. Jude’s parking lot and back up to the Ceres Main Canal.

Christopher Hoem, director of Community Development for the city of Ceres, said that half of the building will be classrooms with an event gathering hall and kitchen and offices filling the rest. An outdoor play area is also planned.  

Silvia Camarillo, business manager for the church, said the church has been raising funds for eight years and is ready to building the education center. She said the church has outgrown the octagonal shaped building that currently serves the youth.

A church master plan calls for a new worship center in the future. Until then the church will continue to hold worship services in its existing church.

“We have to do it in stages,” Camarillo told the commissioners, “because a lot of this has to do with fundraising from our community.”

The Mitchell Road Corridor Specific Plan does not spell out parking requirements for this specific use, so the Community Development Director determined that based on Modesto’s parking stall for classrooms the city determined that 124 new parking spaces to join the 194 spaces that are already available.

The city reviewed the architectural renderings of the proposed building – which will be as tall as 25 and a half feet – and determined that they incorporate “a good quality texture and material color scheme that is consistent with the Mitchell Road Corridor Specific Plan.”

A new storm water retention basin must be created to the northeast corner of the property. The city is also requiring a masonry wall on the north side of the church property to separate the site from the adjacent mobile home park while the Turlock Irrigation District is requiring a block wall on the east.

Lourdes Perez spoke in favor of the project as one that will benefit local youth.

“I know that the citizens have a high interest in youth engagement opportunities,” said Perez. “And knowing that our City Council is currently collaborating with our school district to renovate our Youth Action Commission and really look for those opportunities to again engage youth in positive ways, this is what this facility will provide.”

Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 persons attend services at St. Jude’s Catholic Church every weekend. Camarillo said the education center would be used primarily during the week “like a school, except that we hold it in the evening for the kids.”

The Planning Commission agenda which was posted indicated that the panel would be considering a Specific Plan Site Plan to allow the construction of a 636-square-foot addition on the north side of the  Morena’s Taqueria restaurant at 2500 Mitchell Road. But the item has been continued to the April 17 meeting.