Construction of a community building which is part of a much anticipated housing project for retired priests of diocese is now complete and work has begun on the project’s first five duplexes.

Located adjacent to Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, the phased project design calls for building 24 independent living units on approximately 15 acres of oak-filled landscape.

Work on the project, which is nearly a year behind schedule, began in May. It has been delayed in part due to a transition in land use planning and the building permit process by the city of Citrus Heights, which took over these operations from Sacramento County when Citrus Heights became a city in 1998.

“We’ve had civil engineering issues, architectural issues, and personnel turnover as the city reviews drawings and goes through the process of still growing as a relatively new city,” said Tom O’Leary, construction consultant for the retirement village project.

O’Leary said unfriendly weather conditions last fall and winter also held up the construction process.

Further complicating the beginning of construction was planning for the protection of more than 50 oak trees present on the project site.

The first building, completed in May, is a 3,481-square-foot community building, contemporary Mediterranean in design, which includes a chapel, a living and recreation room, dining facility, kitchen, two guest rooms and parlor. O’Leary said the project is now back on track and moving forward.

“We stayed within budget,” he said. “It’s an attractive project and will be something everyone can be proud of.”

Msgr. Robert Walton, vicar general of the diocese, said that providing housing for retired priests is a long-standing need, with more than 30 retired priests currently living in the diocese and a growing number facing retirement in near future.

“The retirement village is something the priests are asking for and Bishop (William K.) Weigand is happy to provide, and through the generosity of our people is becoming a reality,” he said.

The estimated cost of the project is $3 million, with funding coming from the diocese’s recent capital campaign, which concluded last fall.

Msgr. Walton said that diocese’s decision to initiate the housing project originally surfaced from the Council of Priests, which identified the Citrus Heights site, which is owned by the diocese, as a priority location.

Among the priests planning to move into one of the five duplexes expected to be completed by September is Father Nicholas Duggan, pastor at St. Paul Parish in Sacramento. Finally acquiescing to his doctor’s advice to “take time out” for his personal health and healing, Father Duggan will retire on Sept. 30 after 41 years as a diocesan priest. He views the retirement center as a perfect fit for his needs.

“I’ve been in Sacramento for the last 35 years and I like the area,” said Father Duggan, who lived in Citrus Heights for five years during his previous assignment as pastor of Holy Family Parish. “I like the privacy with lovely trees and a library nearby so I can catch up on my reading.”

A member of the priests’ retirement village planning committee, Father Duggan said that another benefit of the project is being able to take advantage of a lifestyle that enables priests to be as involved or uninvolved with the community as they choose.

Father Ronan Brennan, coordinator for retired priests in the diocese, has also submitted an application to live at the new retirement village. He said cost is a major factor in shaping retirement living decisions for most priests.

“I hope it will be cheaper than living in a condominium and more stable,” said Father Brennan, who has been forced to move in recent months from one location in Auburn to another due to a change in property ownership.

He also likes the location of the village, with its easy access to Interstate 80, making for a quick commute to his weekend pastoral duties in Auburn and Lincoln.

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