Delphi Construction, Inc. completes a new parish hall for Church of the Messiah in Falmouth

Falmouth, MA Delphi Construction, Inc. has completed construction of a new parish hall for Church of the Messiah, the first Episcopal Church established on Cape Cod in 1852.

The 6,000 s/f renovation and new construction project consisted of the restoration and modification of a wooden building constructed in the mid-nineteenth century which had served as the original church prior to the construction of the stone church that now sits on the Woods Hole site.

Design on the $2.2 million project was provided by Keenan + Kenny Architects Ltd. The owner’s project manager was James Vieira. Delphi managed construction out of their Mashpee office. The project was paid for through community fundraising efforts spearheaded by the church’s rector, Deborah Warner.    

John Keenan, registered architect and principal at Keenan + Kenny commented on the design aspirations for this historically significant project. “Our primary goal with historic renovations is always to find the heart of the original building and then let that inform our design direction. In the case of this 150 year old, gothic revival style, southern yellow pine timber-framed structure, that heart was still beating strong. Working with an outside preservation consultant, we were able to uncover a period painting showing details of the three arched windows that were the defining design feature of the original structure. This enabled us to faithfully reproduce them along with the other historically appropriate details present throughout the design.”

The newly converted two-story parish hall features a suite of administrative offices on the first floor and a large function space/meeting room on the second, along with a kitchen and accessible bathrooms. Construction work included all new mechanical, electrical and fire suppression systems and a new elevator to provide handicap accessibility to the entire building. 

Delphi project executive, Corey Heaslip expressed his appreciation to the team and extended congratulations to the client. “Delphi was honored to be selected to handle construction on this very special project right here in our community on the Cape. Our team is proud to have delivered a successful project for our client and thrilled to have played a role in bringing this much needed asset to the community of Church of the Messiah. The success of this project is largely attributable to the spirit of teamwork among all of the project stakeholders including the design team at Keenan + Kenny, the owner’s project manager Jim Vieira, representatives of the historical commission and the many highly skilled tradesmen and women who contributed to this outstanding project.”

Construction on the project began in June of 2018 and was substantially completed this spring.