The College of the Holy Cross will build a new $22 million facility on a 52-acre site in West Boylston that will boost its retreat programs, the Worcester school announced.
The site, which overlooks the Wachusett Reservoir, was purchased by the school last year. The site is adjacent to a conservation area.
Officials from Holy Cross conducted a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site this week. It will be called the Joyce Contemplative Center, named after the late Thomas P. Joyce, a 1959 alumnus and member of the Holy Cross board of trustees who was former chairman of Joyce Beverages in Chicago, a statement from the college read. He was also the father of six Holy Cross graduates. His family is a lead donor for the project, the school said.
The new facility will consist of a 33,800-square foot complex designed specifically for the college’s retreat programs. The main building will include a chapel, meeting rooms and dining room. Adjoining that building will be a living quarters with bedrooms and baths for 60 individuals.
Plans call for the Joyce Center to open at the start of the 2016-2017 academic year. The facility has been designed by Lamoureux Pagano & Associates of Worcester.
“In today’s rapid-response world, where technological change is constant, and the values we consider timeless can be routinely questioned, the mission of Holy Cross has never been more important. We are dedicated to educating the whole person: mind, body, and spirit,” Holy Cross President Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., said in a statement.
