Paving Project Nears Completion

The Ursuline Motherhouse Repaving Project is nearly complete, bringing much needed improvements to the Canfield location – visited by some 1,500 people a month in non-pandemic times.

Just some final touches are needed for the $325,000 project, which fixed problems with broken, cracked and uneven pavement. Not only were there safety concerns, drainage issues were causing driveway flooding. The improvements corrected those and also increased parking spaces, more than doubling spaces reserved for handicapped visitors.

 “Our drives and parking areas accommodate visitors, employees and residents. Our Canfield campus comprises the Ursuline Sisters’ Motherhouse, Ursuline Ministries, Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry, Ursuline Education & Wellness Center, Ursuline Preschool & Kindergarten, and Ursuline Sisters Senior Living,” states Sister Mary McCormick, general superior. “Participation in our programs is always growing. A number of our visitors have mobility issues, and the new construction makes our lots much safer for everyone.”

The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown received four grants to help pay for the major project, which contributed 17% of the overall cost: a $25,000 grant from The Florence and Ward Beecher Foundation, dispersed over two years; a $20,000 grant award from the Youngstown Foundation; a $10,000 grant from Rick and Jody Vernal/RT Vernal Paving & Excavating, North Lima; and a $2,000 award from the Home Savings Charitable Foundation.

R.T. Vernal was the main contractor on the project.

This capital improvement project is part of ongoing maintenance and improvements to the Motherhouse complex. Late last year, Simon Roofing and the Simon family of Youngstown generously donated a $280,000 grant to install a new roof over the Sisters’ living quarters.

Since 2012, the Ursuline Sisters have invested $8.6 million in building and property upgrades. Grants and private donations have funded approximately 18% of these improvements.