A NEW DIRECTION

A BIG CHANGE HAS TAKEN PLACE
October 2024
Over the past five years the grounds of the former St. Joseph’s Seminary have been transformed from an abandoned, derelict property into a thriving campus that includes housing for low income older adults, a center for child and family services, assistance for young Latino immigrants, and the nearly completed construction of affordable brand new homes.
Check THE SEMINARY IN 2019 on our website for a “before” look the Ellington Academy of Arts and Technology, the faith-based organization that had purchased the property from the Grand Rapids Diocese.
Check THE SEMINARY IN 2024 for a look at the changes that have taken place.
Scroll down on this page and check these sections of our website to see the changes: (1) 2080 PROJECT and (2) back issues of ALUMNI UPDATE.

The buildings of St. Joseph’s Seminary have been transformed by two faith-based human service agencies: Samaritas and Bethany Christian Services. The seminary’s main building, which was opened in 1921, has been converted by Samaritas into 53 affordable living units for low-income residents age 55 and older.  It has remodeled the former gym into office space.  The work began in November, 2019 and a year later a  ribbon cutting was held to mark the near completion of the work.
More details were published in the November 27, 2020 issue of the Grand Rapids Journal: https://grbj.com/news/nonprofits/nonprofit-converts-historic-seminary-into-senior-living-space

In the rendering below the plans for the main building and gym are outlined in black.  The area outside the lines is being developed by Bethany Christian Services.
The former St. Henry’s Hall was quickly spruced up and is now used by Bethany for some of its residential services.  The former convent has been converted into office space for the agency.

Here is a tour of the Samaritas facilities:

This video invites seniors to examine the new housing option.

LOOKING AHEAD: AFFORDABLE HOUSING & EXPANSION

Dwelling Place and Bethany Christian Services are planning improvements to the properties located at 670 Burton and 2080 Union SE.  Their respective projects will facilitate the development of 47 housing units and administrative offices and classroom space to support refugee and immigrant families.

The top three floors of the new Bethany building would be used for organizational offices, while the ground floor would be dedicated to client meeting spaces and programming, like English language classes and job training.

The 9,100-square-foot facility would connect to the group’s existing facilities on site and have a similar appearance. The plans also call for a parking lot with about 95 spaces and a storage and maintenance facility.

The one- and two-story single family Dwelling Place homes are planned for the former athletic field in the area south of the seminary’s main building (now Samaritas Affordable Living) and east of the former athletic building (now housing Samaritas Child and Family Services).  This WOOD-TV report looks at some of the concerns of neighbors in the Alger Heights community.

Info on the housing project and the approval process at: https://dwellingplacegr.org/garfield-park-development/.

PHOTO GALLERY OF TRANSFORMATION OF 600 BURTON STREET
The photos shown here follow the extensive work that has taken place during 2020 on the main building and former gym, showing the most recent developments first and moving backwards to November 19, 2019 when ground was broken.

Most were taken by Tom Dalton, an alum who lives nearby and who has been keeping an eye on what has taken place and Msgr. Terrance Stewart.

A few tips when looking at the photos:

  • Hover over a photo for the caption.
  • Click on a photo for a larger view.

November 2020
The first batch of photos below was taken by Msg. Terry Stewart and shows the interior of the main building and the former gym.

Main Floor

Main Entrance – Front doors – November 6 2020
Main Entrance – Looking from the chapel doors to the front doors – November 6 2020
Main Floor – Study Hall looking toward front Reading Room Area – This is in the study hall looking toward the front of the room – November 6 2020
Main Floor – Main corridor looking down corridor from study hall to rector’s room – November 6 2020

Chapel will be used as a community room.

Chapel -View from choir loft – November 6 2020
Chapel – Peeking through chapel stained glass window – November 6 2020
Chapel – Vestment closet in the sacristy remains – November 6 2020
Chapel – Original terrazzo floor is being retained – November 6 2020
Chapel – Confessional – November 6 2020
Chapel – Corridor to the senior chapel – November 6 2020
Chapel -Stairway to choir loft – November 6 2020
Chapel – Organ pipes are still in the choir loft- November 6 2020

Lower Level

Lower Level – Entrance to old gym and stage – November 6 2020
Lower Level – Stage area is still the same – November 6 2020
Lower Level -The Recorder room where the seminary newspaper was created – November 6 2020
Lower Level – where our lockers were – November 6 2020
Lower Level -The corridor to the refectory On the right was the bakery area – November 6 2020
Lower Level – Refectory Kitchen – Hard to tell what this area will be – November 6 2020
Lower Level -The area next to the Cortile where our lockers were – November 6 2020
The Cortile now has plantings to make it a little courtyard garden – November 6 2020

Apartments

Classroom Floor corridor – Apartments on both sides – November 6 2020
Apartments – Typical room in the study hall – November 6 2020
Apartments – A typical room in the study hall facing Union Street – November 6 2020
Apartments – Typical kitchen layout – November 6 2020
Apartments – In old lower-level gym rooms are higher than the others and have an upper loft for bedroom – November 6 2020
Apartments – in old gym with upper loft – November 6 2020

The gym is being converted into a two story welcome center and Samaritas offices.

Gym – The locker room and shower was extended to make a reception area – November 6 2020
Gym – Samaritas corporate offices are now the whole gym- November 6 2020
Gym – Now the has a mezzanine – November 6 2020
Gym – Offices in former handball court – November 6 2020
Gym – Half of a handball court – November 6 2020
Gym – Offices in the extended locker shower area – November 6 2020
Gym – The locker room and shower area now a break room – November 6 2020

Exterior
These  exterior photos by Tom Dalton show the view from Burton Street, the front entrance, the west side of the main building, the former convent, the former St. Henry’s Hall, and the west side of the former gym.

Coming Soon – November 2020
Front Entrance – November 1 2020
West Side of Main Building – November 4 2020
Former Convent – November 4 2020
Former Saint Henrys Hall -1 November 4 2020
Former Gym – November 2020

October 2020
Exterior views taken by Tom Dalton on October 13:

Front – October 13 2020
Southwest Corner – October 13 2020
Courtyard – October 13 2020
Parking Area at Rear – October 13 2020
View on Union Blvd – October 2020

These interior views of the second and third floors were provided by the construction company.

Chapel – October 6 2020
Interior Hall – October 6 2020
Interior Hall – October 6 2020
Interior Hall – October 6 2020

Tom Dalton’s October 7 photos of the newly asphalted front drive:

Front Drive Northwest Entrance – October 7 2020
Front Drive Northeast Entrance – October 7 2020

September 28, 2020

Front – September 28 2020
Front View from Northwest – September 28 2020
Front View from Northeast – September 28 2020
Southwest Corner – September 28, 2020
Gym View from Southwest – September 28 2020
Gym View from South – September 28 2020

August 4, 2020

Apartment under construction – August 2020 (photo by Consolidated Electrical Contractors)

First Floor & Basement

Entrance (looking toward chapel)
Entrance
Main Entrance
Main Hallway (looking to west)
Main Entrance (Looking Toward Chapel)
Chapel Interior
Chapel (From Choir Loft)
Chapel Interior (Choir Loft)
Choir Loft
Sacristy
Rector’s Room
First Floor Outside Rector’s Room
Looking Toward Convent
Study Hall
Refectory (Basement)
Auditorium (Basement)
Auditorium (Basement)

Third & Fourth Floors

Third Floor Looking East
Third Floor
Fourth Floor Looking North
Fourth Floor Looking South

Gym

West Side of Gym
Locker Rooms
Locker Rooms
Gym Interior
Gym Interior
Future Parking Lot

Exterior

Rear View
Chapel
Driveway

May 3, 2020

Chapel roof replacement
New windows on west side

April 7-8, 2020

Front drive west entrance
Front drive east entrance

March 30 – April 4, 2020

St. Henry’s Hall east-side fence
Gym
Rear of Main Building

March 21, 2020

Front view from northwest
Front view from northeast

March 14, 2020

Front view March 14 2020
Gym Interior March 14 2020

February 25, 2020

Drain and water service
Drain and water service

November 2019

2019

Msgr. Terry Stewart took these photos:

First floor senior chapel
First floor rector’s office
First floor study hall
Second floor “prof’s alley”
Second floor classrooms looking east
Third floor dormitory “corrals” (with Msgr. Terry Stewart)
Third floor dormitory rooms and corrals
Third floor dormitory rooms
Third floor junior dorm rooms
Fourth floor east dorm
November Collage

November 19, 2019
Samaritas broke ground for the renovation of the old main building and gym.
groundbreaking-1-e1573852615183.jpg