Remodelling St Nicholas of Tolentino

Award winning remodeling of St Nicholas of Tolentino 

The parish of St Nicholas of Tolentino is in the centre of Bristol in an area of deprivation and with high levels of immigrant families amongst the parisioners. The parish is vibrant and welcoming but has a congregation which has little disposable income to help fund the upgrading of the church and its facilities to meet the needs of the parish in the 21 century. 

The challenge

The church did have a large car park and a 3 storey building which had been constructed as a school in the early 1920’s. The parish decided to sell this building and land to raise the funds to carry out the required work to create a modern worship centre with all the ancillariy facilities required. The main issue was to ensure that the scheme remained within the defined budget available through the sale of assets. Any overrun would cause serious financial difficulties for the parish in the future.

The solution

Hookway, working with the architect’s O’Leary & Goss, carried out robust financial management throughout the design process to ensure that the proposals remained within the available budget whilst being mindful to ensure the core requirements of the design brief were retained. The project was carried out under a traditional contract with full quantity surveying services provided by Hookway throughout, working closely with the parish to ensure their vision was delivered. 

The result

The church has been remodelled to include a new church hall with mezzanine and an extension, housing overflow and community rooms. The attached house has been remodelled to provide additional administrative facilities and meeting rooms. The project was completed within the available budget. The parish now have a complex which provides for the needs of the church community and was recognised by the wider community with the granting of a Bristol Civic Society Environmental Award.