Columbus St. Mary School in the German Village area dedicated its new campus on Thursday, Feb. 1, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessing from Bishop Earl Fernandes.

The $18 million redevelopment of the school campus began in October 2022 to help accommodate a 40 percent increase in enrollment since 2018. The project is the first extensive renovation of the school on the city’s south side since it was built in 1955.

Also participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Gina Stull, the school principal; Father Vince Nguyen, pastor at St. Mary, Mother of God Church; Msgr. Joseph Hendricks, the bishop’s delegate for community relations; Mo and David Meuse, the campaign co-chairs; and nine eighth-grade students who started at St. Mary as preschoolers. Second- and third-grade students sang “Thank you for Building Our School” to the guests at the dedication.

Second- and third-grade students sing to the guests at the dedication for the renovated Columbus St. Mary School on Thursday, Feb. 1.  Photos courtesy St. Mary School

MKC Architects and CK Construction (formerly Corna Kokosing) were responsible for the design and building in collaboration with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Diocese of Columbus. In addition to adding space for the students and teachers, the facility’s interior was updated to incorporate modern concepts to facilitate better instruction in the classrooms.

More than $21 million was raised to support the capital improvements and a scholarship endowment fund for students in need of tuition assistance.

The project included:

• Renovation to 80 percent of the existing elementary school and expansion of the total area by 14,000 square feet. 

• Newly constructed Heritage Hall, which serves as the first-ever cafeteria for the school and features a stained-glass representation of the Assumption of Mary, relocated from Philadelphia.

• Renovated and new classrooms, a restaurant-grade kitchen and dining area, offices, program enrichment spaces, elevator, HVAC/MEP improvements, and upgraded security and safety elements.

In 2020, the diocese had purchased a building next to the parish, where the former Golden Hobby Shop was located, that was converted into a home for St. Mary’s middle school.

In January 2023, the campus also added the Dominican Learning Center for Adults and the 5,000-square-foot Nationwide Children’s Hospital School Based Health Center on the second floor of the renovated Burkley Center, which formerly was a convent, to provide medical, vision, hearing and behavioral health care with staffing from Nationwide Children’s for the students in the school in addition to being open to all children in the area.

“These critical programs have allowed us to create a multi-generational campus that meets the holistic needs of our students, our family and the broader community,” Stull said. “It is my honor to lead the school during a time of significant growth and transformation, and it would not be possible without the partnership of so many others.”

Bishop Earl Fernandes blesses St. Mary School students and a classroom. The bishop went from room to room blessing the learning areas and students with holy water.  

The school, which has approximately 400 students enrolled from pre-K through eighth grade who come from 30 zip codes in central Ohio, is located next to historic St. Mary, Mother of God Church, which was renovated in 2019 after a lightning strike damaged the structure in 2016. With 40,000 total square feet now available in the school, St. Mary will be able to accommodate upward of 500 students in the future.

“What we have here in German Village is literally a concrete example of transformative change in the city of Columbus and in the wider community,” Bishop Fernandes said at the dedication. “And while we can see change in the concrete, where we really hope to see changes is in the lives of the students.”

The bishop thanked the benefactors and parents who contributed to the campaign, the Meuses and fellow co-chairs Mike and Peggy Hartshorn, and Stull.

“It is a sign of what we can be when we as a society, instead of being divided, come together … how we can give hope to a whole section of our city,” Bishop Fernandes said. “You are the light of the world. It’s fitting that this happens in Catholic Schools Week because we want the light of faith to guide our children and how they make decisions, how they approach their studies, how they approach others in the community.”