School spirit

Visner keeps giving for Shepherd's Way

By Janine Anderson

When Jeffrey Visner looked at the vacant St. Peter's school in Eagle River, he saw a way to use his expertise to help a church and community.

St. Peter's left the downtown location several years earlier, closing its school and abandoning the church, parish hall and rectory. The buildings sat empty as the church tried to figure out what to do with them.

Meanwhile, area parents who wanted their children to continue in a parochial school had created Shepherd's Way Christian School, which never really had a permanent home. As St. Peter's looked to sell its old buildings, the school looked for a place where it could put down roots.

Visner made the connection between the old church and new school. When a potential buyer for the former church fell through, Visner came up with a plan to keep the historic buildings intact while giving the school just what it was looking for.

Visner bought the property and worked with Shepherd's Way to rehab the mold-infested and outdated buildings into a modern place where children can learn.

"It was a mess," Visner said. "Now there's fresh paint, and it's very nice."

	Project Name: Shepherd's Way Christian School Location: Eagle River Submitting Company: Design/Build by Visner Inc., Conover Design/Builder: Design/Build by Visner Inc. Project Leader: Jeffrey Visner, president of Design/Build by Visner Inc. Architect: Design/Build by Visner Inc. Owner: Design/Build by Visner Inc. Project Cost: $530,000 Project Size: 16,633 square feet Start Date: June 2006 Completion Date: September 2006

In turning St. Peter's into Shepherd's Way, Visner and his crew had to tear down the old church. The team discovered asbestos and mold throughout the buildings, and abatement took longer than expected.

Visner spent $100,000 just to get hazardous materials removed before the church tear-down. He spent another $150,000 getting the property ready for reconstruction and renovation.

But, he said, it was worth it.

"Bringing back the school revitalized that block of the downtown," Visner said. "It's alive, and before, it was pretty much dead."

The project team did everything it could to get the old structure ready for the school, using a new ceramic paint to help insulate the building and reduce heating costs. Visner's group installed new millwork, flooring and doors, and it cleared paint from old windows to let natural light into dark rooms. Leaks beneath the floors had to be located and fixed, and the team leveled off the concrete floors.

The whole school community came together to help get the project finished. Visner used volunteer labor for some of the construction and accepted in-kind donations, tallying the money saved from free labor and giving that back to the school in rent reductions for the first few years of occupancy.

"It was more of a compassion thing than a financial thing," he said. "It was good for the church and the community of Eagle River. We were just moved by the spirit, if you will."