The Sinsinawa Mound Saga #2
The Look-back Timeline continued...
October 17, 2022
The culmination of our search for a new owner of our excess facilities at the Mound has resulted in two promising possibilities. We will be embarking on a new phase of the search over the coming months. Our leadership has decided to suspend and delay deconstruction to allow the time needed for each party to further develop and craft a full proposal for their adaptive reuse visions. In mid-2023 we will consider the merits of each, paying attention to the needs in the surrounding area.
The first one is the vision of a local construction firm focused on providing an enclave of active retirement housing opportunities. They would leverage the unique character of the Mound as an attractor and utilize non-residential spaces in creative ways to enhance the lives of residents and serve the surrounding community. Housing shortages are a challenge here as they are everywhere.
The second is a consortium whose vision revolves around an educational/ research center for regenerative agriculture practices to improve soil health. They want to incorporate corollary uses focused on food and human health benefits of regenerative agriculture. Such a center could have regional impact with potential to advance the movement toward healthy soils in farming. Regenerative farming has huge climate change mitigation potential and a center would complement the agricultural character of the area and could serve the surrounding farming community.
There is much work yet to be done in fleshing out the visions and vetting their feasibility, but we are hopeful that something new will take shape at the Mound and that this might be a step in that direction. The Sinsinawa Dominicans are hiring representation with experience in complex development deals to help guide us through this new phase of the process. We continue to ask for prayers for this endeavor.
February 8, 2023
This is a quick update on our efforts seeking future neighbors at the Mound. Our advisors, a firm out of Minneapolis are guiding the process with their expertise in negotiating leases, conducting financial analyses and property transactions. Both interested parties are working closely with them and soliciting input from our leadership to craft their proposals. A local construction company in neighboring Dubuque, Iowa is developing their vision of an active retirement village with supporting amenities at the Mound. A farmer-led agricultural consortium is organizing around a center of training and education for regenerative agriculture and corollary uses. We anticipate their proposals in May, so please pray for the success of this process—that it helps us discern our new neighbors at the Mound!
In the meantime, we are moving forward to prepare the vintage buildings on campus for the continued presence of the Sinsinawa Dominicans at the Mound. We are in early stages of designing the Congregation’s future footprint on campus in the original Stone Building (c. 1846) and the adjacent Convent Building (c. 1900).
The “big move” for our sisters currently living at the Mound has been delayed until May due to supply-chain issues impacting the opening of the new facility near Milwaukee. A recent in-depth piece in the Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA) beautifully captured this challenging transition for the Mound community, especially our sisters. Please pray that they experience a smooth transition along with meaningful, peaceful final months at Sinsinawa Mound.
There are many moving parts, complicating factors and conversations yet to happen but we remain hopeful that a vibrant future for Sinsinawa Mound is emerging through this process. Our founder, Fr. Mazzuchelli (himself a planner, designer and builder) encourages us to “…hope in divine Providence, who has never abandoned us in our difficulties.”
May 1, 2023
Welcome to May, it’s a big month for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.
We anticipate two strong proposals for adaptive reuse of our buildings and our leadership’s decision about what direction to go. Their choice is made more complex given that the Congregation recently elected a new leadership team to begin their tenure in two months! Since this newly-elected team will be responsible for carrying it forward, the decision about a new neighbor at the Mound will be taken up by members of both outgoing and incoming leadership teams. After presentations by the interested parties and a thorough assessment by our real estate advisors, May 25th will be a critical day in the process. This day is set aside for congregation-wide communal prayer and joint discernment by both leadership teams, together.
This month we also begin pre-construction activities for the renovations to accommodate our Congregation’s future at the Mound. The design is progressing and excitement is building about the possibilities for this new space of Dominican ministry and community.
The Mound campus is abuzz with activity as sisters and their companions make final arrangements for the big move to the Milwaukee area. In mid-May our sisters living at the Mound will begin their pilgrimage to the Stair Crest facility in Muskego. There will be a steady stream of sisters relocating each week and we hope to have everyone settled in by the end of June, God-willing. Please send prayers our way for this challenging next step.
I am in awe by my sisters’ persistent commitment to the collective tasks at hand—in spite of the sadness, difficulty and overwhelm. Together we cling to the sage words of our late Prioress, Kay Ashe to help us through it:
The search – for self, for wisdom, for love, for truth, for justice, for God – is strenuous and unending.
We need good companions in order to persevere in it.
In good company, in a community of conviction, the quest never loses its relevance, its urgency, or its savor.
June 16, 2023
We have seen much progress in the past weeks at the Mound, even as the place is beginning to feel like a ghost town! In early May we were able to move around 60 of our sisters to their new home in Stair Crest. While the preparations were grueling, the move itself has generally been uplifting and energizing for them. The facility is beautiful and is becoming a thriving community with our sisters as its first residents. We actually couldn’t have asked for a smoother move to begin this transformation.
Now we are in a painful holding pattern, waiting for the State certification until our remaining sisters at the Mound—those requiring assisted living supports and memory care—can also make the move to Stair Crest. As you might imagine, this is a precarious interim time as we wait and pray for all of our retired sisters to be reunited at Stair Crest very soon. We owe a huge debt to the critical caretakers / coworkers who have stayed on as a skeleton crew for our most vulnerable sisters—they are getting us through this.
Our outgoing and incoming leadership teams worked together in May to field both adaptive reuse proposals. After hearing from both teams and spending a day of prayer and discernment together, they ultimately chose to move forward with the local construction company in Dubuque. Their vision of an active retirement village and their efforts to make it a real and viable option for the space were impressive. Last week’s article in the Dubuque Herald and one in Global Sisters Report talk more about the selection. There is a long way to go yet, but we have a clear direction for the first time.
Tragically, the very special farmer who spearheaded the regenerative agriculture proposal, David Brandt, was severely injured on May 18th in a wreck in Illinois. David was the farmer who was personally moved by the vision of the Mound as a center of education. He gathered an impressive network of collaborators and visited us multiple times, sharing that vision with the sisters. He was a dear and humble visionary who many referred to as “the Godfather of Regenerative Agriculture”.
While the regenerative agriculture proposal wasn’t selected because they lacked the capacity to take on the vast facilities, there was a silver lining. The relationships and the awareness-raising that grew out of the RFP process and David’s visits resulted in a Congregational commitment to regenerative agriculture. Leadership made the unanimous decision to explore how our continued presence on campus and our surrounding land might contribute to the movement.
And so we continue to pray our Dominican mantra: Providence can provide. Providence did provide. Providence will provide. Thanks for you continued interest and for your prayers.
August 23, 2023
We knew that this would not be a seamless journey, given the complexity of what we’re trying to do, and we were right. That said, our Congregation is still on track: settling our sisters who need care into their new home, negotiating with a potential new neighbor at the Mound, renovating the vintage buildings for our future on campus, and exploring how the Mound can contribute to the regenerative agriculture movement. We are marching!
It has been very long 2.5 months as we’ve precariously waited for the green light from the State of Wisconsin for our remaining sisters to go to the Stair Crest assisted living wing. On August 17th, they finally issued the certification and our sisters in need of the care were able to move last week! It was a heart-warming reunion as the sisters already settled at Stair Crest’s independent living units were able to roll-out the red carpet and welcome them to their new home. Hallelujah!
Our new leadership team was installed on July 1st and hit the ground running. While the transition has had its challenges—they jumped into the deep end of a rapidly flowing stream—there has been continuous and steady progress thanks to the phenomenal support of our coworkers, consultants, and contractors who are companioning them. Negotiations around redevelopment of the “1964 Buildings” (c. 1964) have continued under the new leadership team. While the considerations are complex and challenging, both parties are working in good-faith to see how this arrangement can be a win-win.
Our own renovations of the historic building have been delayed by the news that a geothermal system just became an affordable option given the newly-available rebates through the Inflation Reduction Act. This was an exciting, mission-aligned development that we will pursue. Minimizing our carbon footprint has been a huge part of the rationale for everything we’re trying to do at the Mound. This opportunity is considered gift, even with the implications of a schedule delay.
We have also been working with some key farmer-leaders in the movement towards regenerative agriculture to host a large exploratory event at the Mound on Sept. 14th. David Brandt’s son, who took over his farm in Ohio, has bought into his father’s vision and is engaged to see what sort of legacy might take shape. Area farmers from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois are invited to consider the possibilities for shaping a farmer-led learning center here at the Mound and on our surrounding acreage.
December 11, 2023
The liturgical season of Advent calls us to wait in hopeful anticipation and that’s exactly what we’re doing with our plans at the Mound. We’ve cleared the way (literally, via selective demo) for the renovations of the historic Stone, Convent and St. Clara Chapel to accommodate our continued presence here and are waiting for the construction bids to roll in. I’m praying that low bids will be our Christmas miracle this year! The new year will find us moving full-speed ahead building out new spaces that we’ll eventually call the home of the Sinsinawa Dominican motherhouse once again.
The September gathering to explore how the Mound’s land and facilities might offer a teaching environment for regenerative agriculture was very well attended. A steering committee of 23 farmers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois emerged and are organizing around the vision. The energy and enthusiasm was a clear sign that the Spirit was at work, so we are praying that the vision takes root and those steering the efforts become the driving force it needs to take shape.
While the settling in of our sisters to their new home in Stair Crest is an ongoing process, their presence has made a bona fide home of the new facility for everyone there. They are bonding with the staff. And the laypeople who have moved in are clearly enjoying the gift of living in community! And so the mission continues for our sisters. It’s beautiful to see how much their presence—including those in assisted living and the memory care wing—makes a difference for those living and working at Stair Crest. As for the rest of the Congregation, we are living into the inevitably fractured reality of no longer having the Mound as our default place for all the sisters to be together.
Personally, having moved into the old rectory a week ago, I’m settling into my new home at Sinsinawa Mound. “West Knoll” (as the house is called) was built in the early 1900’s and is serving as the house of hospitality for visiting sisters and friends until the renovations are complete. It feels good to be where my ministry is focused and to begin laying roots in the surrounding communities. There are also about a dozen other sisters still living on campus mainly in the Academy apartments. As I told our Prioress, I want to be “on the ground floor” for whatever takes shape here at the Mound.
In the meantime, there are still many unknowns remaining vis-à-vis the redevelopment of the 1964 Buildings into an active retirement village. That said, negotiations continue in good faith and we hope to finalize the deal by the end of February. All of our offices and operations are moving into an “interim space” in the old Convent, thereby emptying the facilities for work on redeveloping them as soon as negotiations are finalized. We can feel good about “making clear the way” for a new neighbor’s vision to take shape, God-willing.
April 18, 2024
Spring has sprung! Here at the Mound, we’re moving forward on some fronts and still trying to gain traction on others. Our renovation of the original Stone and historic Convent buildings are fully underway and gaining momentum—it’s very exciting. The elevator—what I like to think of as the spine of the project—is ordered and contractors are preparing for its installation. The geothermal wells are set to be drilled in May. In the meantime, there is a bustling construction zone at the Mound and anticipation is building as sisters and coworkers tour the space and are beginning to see what is taking shape.
The regenerative agriculture initiative, now known as the Fields of Sinsinawa, is also gaining steam. The non-profit is legit and the steering committee is laying the planning groundwork for collaboration on Sinsinawa land. Key regenerative farmers are beginning outreach to local farmers in the surrounding area to introduce the vision, and to hopefully drum-up interest for better understanding and improving the soil health in the area. These are efforts to create a critical baseline for measuring the impacts of different farming techniques on the health of the soil. You can read more here in the National Catholic Reporter about our initiatives on the land at Sinsinawa, which continue to take shape and lay roots—please pray for these endeavors.
Our negotiations to redevelop the remaining 1964 facilities into an active retirement village are ongoing. It has not proven to be the quick transfer of ownership we had hoped for. Unfortunately, additional complexities and looming unknowns have led to two-steps-forward-one-step-back for the good-faith negotiations. As a result the urgency of emptying the facilities has eased up, which provides a welcome breathing space. It’s not as easy as one might think to unload a mass quantity of interesting antique and vintage pieces of furniture in a rural setting! One way we do that is by advertising them on our website.
July 12, 2024
This past week, our leadership council made the difficult decision, in concert with our negotiating partner, to pull the plug on negotiations around the redevelopment of our 1964 buildings. While it was deeply disappointing to both parties that a mutually beneficial outcome couldn’t be reached, we feel confident that it was the right choice and we parted ways amicably. Unfortunately, that means that we are back to square one. That means that deconstruction is now the most viable option unless something emerges soon to significantly change the equation.
As we continue our exciting renovations on the vintage buildings, the future of the Queen of Rosary Chapel looks increasingly grim. This coming fall we anticipate planning for the massive endeavor of deconstruction and looking to salvage the most precious features of this architectural gem. Whatever the outcome, we can at least know that we’ve given it our best effort. In fact, we worked with Dominican University to capture this virtual tour of the facilities for posterity’s sake.
Meanwhile, the Fields of Sinsinawa continues self-organizing and developing programming around the surrounding land. The website captures the excitement and momentum wrapped up in these efforts. The local outreach appears to be gaining interest, too.
If you are a praying person, please tuck our efforts into your prayers.
January 8, 2025
Happy New Year!
As the Congregation’s multi-million-dollar historic renovation project moves into a new year, we’re nearly finished with the installation of the geothermal system and I anticipate a mad flurry of building finishes! We are looking forward to opening the new area to the public this summer.
Uncovering the bare bones and deepest secrets of the original Stone Building (built in 1846) has been a fascinating aspect of the very complicated project — we found a Civil War-era Catholic newspaper in one of the walls just last month! The sounds of geothermal drilling, industrial truck back-up alarms, and noisy construction work are regular interruptions to the peaceful tranquility here, but they are also welcome reminders that we’re making progress on renovations.
In contrast, we are still in a holding-pattern regarding the hundreds of thousands of square feet of 1964 Building. I’m heartened and hopeful about an impressive third-party developer who is now in the picture to assess the facilities for possible reuse as affordable housing and event space. Sound familiar? It’s a roller-coaster.
Fields of Sinsinawa has been making waves in the area with rotational grazing, cover crops, pop-up trainings and other regenerative activities which are having visible outcomes on our surrounding land. Our tenant farmers have enthusiastically adopted new approaches and have become ad hoc soil-health evangelists among the farmers in the neighboring area. There is much that remains to be done in developing the farmer-led training center at the Mound, but we’re off to a very promising start!
The 200+ Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters are collectively doing very well in light of the congregation’s median age of 83. They have made vibrant communities in their new homes away from the Mound. I continue to soak up their wisdom and company whenever I’m able to visit. I celebrate the amazing gift of moving through transformational times with them and finally—FINALLY—decided to fully throw my lot in with them and made final vows (for life!) in November.