BRUNSWICK

Driving down Pleasant Street in Brunswick, it’s easy to give the large building under construction as the old stone St. John the Baptist Church comes up on your right little thought.

The husk of a building isn’t much to look at yet, after all; and what’s another building in downtown Brunswick?

But for Mike Ouellet, this is more than just another building.

“This will become a very special place in Brunswick,” said Ouellet, president of Ouellet Construction, hired to build the multi purpose facility on the All Saints Parish’s St. John’s campus. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

As several attendees of a meet-and-greet event to show off the progress on the building went out of their way to point out, the facility is not meant to be simply an extension of St. John’s Catholic School or a place solely for church uses: It’s intended to be a true community center.

The parish sees it as a location for sporting events like indoor soccer or volleyball, a home for Scout troops and other groups, and a space for fairs and charity suppers, among other things.

“I don’t think people realize what’s here,” said Ouellet. “And once they do get inside and people realize that it’s truly a multi-purpose facility for the communities around, they’re going to realize how valuable it is.”

The new facility is 15,074 square feet. It includes an open space that can be used as an auditorium, cafeteria or gym. There’s a stage where plays or concerts can take place, locker rooms for sports teams, restrooms, a music room, a meeting room and even a fully-equipped kitchen.

The parish is still working to raise the final $1 million of the $4.7 million project. Construction is set to be complete by the end of the year, with the facility opening in early 2019.

“I think a parochial school in Brunswick and a multipurpose center like this is very important,” said Ouellet. “It’s as important as Bowdoin is, in a different sense of the word.”

He said he was honored to be a part of the this project because he has a very personal connection with this place. When he used to live in Brunswick, Ouellet attended St. John the Baptist Church, and all three of his children attended St. John’s Catholic School. One of his sons, Luke Ouellet, has served as the project manager for the construction.

Ouellet added that the idea of being selected to build this project was a dream.

“It’s a labor of love. I think we carry on the torch, so to speak, of the visionaries who designed the building, who saw its possibilities,” he said. “We’re just honored, really, to be part of it. That’s the only way to describe it. It’s a signature building.”

“You only build one or two of these in your career lifetime — a nice stone building that’s going to be here a hundred years from now,” Ouellet added. “It takes a different level of care and dedication, but that’s right up our alley.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com

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