Renewal Center guesthouse renovation underway
About a year ago, Cara Keller, director of the Office of Mission Advancement for the U.S. Province, informed the Precious Blood Renewal Center team in Liberty that her office wanted to designate the Renewal Center as beneficiary of the 2025 summer appeal. She asked us: Did we have a project that would benefit from such an appeal?
Our answer was immediate: the guesthouse! In 2017 and 2018, a building on the Liberty campus was extensively renovated to create a purpose-built space for retreats and conferences. That building won a local architectural award, but the guesthouse had received little attention since its construction in 1991. It was most definitely ready for an upgrade.
In May 2025, Cara visited the Renewal Center to view the site and consult with the Renewal Center team. She and Tom Doorley, the director of Finance, helped us move our dream-list of renovation plans into a workable project.
The appeal raised just over $60,000 from 285 donors, and we put our plans in motion. At the same time, Fr. Tim Coday, C.PP.S., had returned from the missions in Tanzania and was appointed director of operations for the Liberty campus. He took the lead on the project, fine-tuning plans, gathering bids, and hiring contractors.
The main goal of the project is to make the guesthouse more accessible for the mobility challenged. A wheelchair ramp will be installed, and a ground floor suite will be completely remodeled to make the bedroom and bathroom wheelchair accessible. Showers in two other guest rooms will be modified for ease of access. All the bathrooms in the seven guest rooms will be fitted with “comfort height toilets” that match accessibility requirements, and vanities and fixtures will be replaced or refurbished.
In addition to the accessibility upgrades, all the windows and outside doors of the guesthouse will be replaced with modern, energy-efficient units. The 35-year-old carpet throughout the house will be replaced with wood-composite flooring. The kitchen cabinets and countertops are being refurbished and some new appliances installed.
Plans also include upgrading mattresses and linens, window blinds, and curtains, and adding more comfortable furniture in some guest rooms and the common living room area. Rooms and hallways will also be spruced up with new paint as needed.
The project is only possible because of the generous support of the donors to the summer appeal. The Renewal Center team is grateful to all who contributed. Thanks to you all.
The guesthouse will close after our Lenten Retreat finishes Feb. 28 and work on the windows, doors, and flooring will begin March. 2. Construction of the wheelchair ramp will begin as soon as possible, weather permitting. We hope to have all the work complete by April 24, when eight Marriage Encounter couples have scheduled a weekend leadership retreat.
Meanwhile, the Renewal Center has a full schedule of programs for spiritual enrichment. Visit our website for full details: pbrenewalcenter.org/events.