Work will begin this month to restore the historic Assumption Church in west Windsor and the contract has come in 30 per cent under budget.
Pupatello & Sons Ltd. has won the contract to replace the copper roof at the iconic church, along with installing a new heating system and asbestos remediation.
The budget had been $1.9-million and the winning bid came at $1.35-million.
Five contractors had been prequalified to submit a bid.
Paul Mullins is spearheading the project and fundraising efforts and says saving the money now on the work, offers a cushion for future work on the church.
"It is not something we can count on," he says. "A lot of the work that will be done after this phase is very specialized, the plaster work and ceiling is a different process."
Assumption Parish is the older parish in Canada, west of Montreal, which requires 3,500 copper shingles
Pupatello and Sons Ltd's Anthony Pupatello says the work will be challenging but rewarding.
"It's a great honour, I mean the church is almost 200 years old so we are looking forward to restoring this," says Pupatello.
Work begins in May to replace the roof at Assumption Church. (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
The work on the roof should be done by the end of September but may open the possibility of having mass in the church this fall.
Father Maurice Restivo says there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
"When I came here four years ago, I thought I was going to have to get people used to the idea that we would never be back inside the church and it didn't take long to convince that we belong here," he says.
The church was built in 1842 and has been closed for about five years because of its condition.
Fundraising efforts remain in place and it needs to raise $2-million in the next couple of months to match the $5-million donation offered by local philanthropist Al Quesnel.