Bouten Construction Co., of Spokane, has begun work on a $5.1 million project for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane to replace the Bishop White Seminary near the Gonzaga University campus.


The 22,000-square-foot complex will be located at 429 E. Sharp, on the site of the current facility, says Tim Thomas, a vice president at Bouten. The construction company is demolishing the annex portion of the current facility. The annex is attached to a turn-of the-century home known as the Huetter Mansion. That structure, which has been used by the seminary for 51 years, has been donated to Gonzaga University by the diocese, says Father Darrin Connall, the rector at the seminary.


The university plans to move the Huetter Mansion east across Addison Street to a lot that formerly housed the schools modern language building, at a cost of about $500,000, says university spokesman Dale Goodwin. The modern language building already was moved to the lot just east of its former location following demolition of a house there.


Connall says the university will use the relocated Huetter Mansion for university offices, fundraisers, and receptions. He says the main floor has a lot of character, and the building has served a variety of purposes, including as a home for elderly men and as a boys home.


The diocese gave it to the university because we wanted it to be saved, he says.


Once demolition is complete and the Huetter Mansion has been moved, Bouten will begin construction of the new seminary facility.


That new complex will have three attached buildings: a three-story dormitory, a one-story common and office area, and a chapel. The complex is expected to be ready for occupancy next spring, Thomas says.


Architects West Inc., of Coeur dAlene, designed the facility.


The three-story dormitory will include 19 dorm rooms for seminary students, including 13 traditional rooms and six larger rooms with bathrooms that could be used as guest rooms or could potentially house two seminarians per room.


It also will have three apartments, one on each floor, to be used by priests who operate the seminary program.


One of the things we really strived for in the building was flexibility, Connall says.


It also will have lounge areas on the second and third floors. The structure will have wood siding and brick veneer accents, Thomas says.


The common and office building will be a single-story structure between the dormitory and the chapel, and will house conference rooms, an office, a kitchen, and a dining area. The single-story chapel, which will be 32 feet tall from ground level to peak height, will have 20-foot-high ceilings and brick veneer exteriors, Thomas says.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at [email protected].