Sisters of St. Benedict Madonna Hall to be taken down

Madonna Hall, a former residence hall for students, will be taken down in the coming months.

Located on the grounds of the Monastery Immaculate Conception, the five-story, 105,000 sq. ft. hall has been vacant since 2000 when the sisters closed Marian Heights Academy, a girls’ boarding school. The Madonna Hall opened in 1970.

“For 16 years, our community and various consultants have unsuccessfully tried to repurpose Madonna Hall, to find an entity that could use it for a ministry or a business,” Sister Barbara Lynn Schmitz, prioress, said. “But interested parties have deemed it too large for the population of this area. Plus, it does not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and it would require an incredible amount of renovation expense.”

Schmitz pointed out that while it was sitting idle, the hall deteriorated. “The economic reality is too much to ignore. So we feel it prudent to no longer spend money on this facility,” she added.

It is hoped to begin deconstruction by late fall and finish by the sisters’ Summer Social on June 2-3, 2017.

“Although it will be difficult to see this building gone,” said Sister Barbara Lynn. “We look forward to how opening up this area will provide opportunities for sustainability and growth. It will allow us to create a closer entrance to our church that is more accessible for the sisters and monastery guests, particularly those with mobility issues. In addition, it enables us to invest our finances more into ministries and the people we serve and less into an aging facility.”