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By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
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GRAND RAPIDS — The domes of the Basilica of St. Adalbert will glow a bright copper color for the first time in nearly a century over the city’s west side, but don’t get used to it.

Although new copper shingles are being installed as part of the Phase II renovation project at the church, over time thanks to normal oxidation, they will return to the familiar light green that’s been visible for recent memory.

Bill Ogden, general superintendent for Owens-Ames-Kimball Co., the construction manager on the project, told MiBiz that within 20 years, the shingles should transform from the bright copper as installed to a brownish black and then to the familiar green.

The project team worked with the original manufacturer of the shingles, W.F. Norman Corp. of Nevada, Mo., to make exact copies for the renovation project. Some issues with partial orders of the shingles aside, Ogden said the company plans to complete the project by November.

Owens-Ames-Kimball worked on the first phase of the project about five years ago when they fixed much of the leaking roof and restored parts of the interior over the nave and north and south transept, as well as the stained glass windows. The apse, or main domed area over the altar, is the focal point of the second phase.

“The main part under the dome (on the interior) was not fixed because the dome was still leaking,” Ogden said. “The toughest part is the scaffolding. The roof won’t take the load, so we had to use a cantilever…. Access is the toughest part.”

Crews got the proper permits to block off a lane of Fourth Street to allow for the scaffolding and some material lay-down for the construction site. Other space in a parking lot across Davis Street was also available for materials, Ogden said.

Parts of the scaffolding are levered on interior pillars in an elaborate placement that scales the main dome and the two cupolas of the bell towers on either side of the narthex at the west end of the building, 119-foot at their tallest point.

Grand River Builders Inc. is performing much of the restoration work or crafting new replicas of the various architectural details.

“There are not many people that do copper work,” Ogden said. “It takes some real craftsmanship to make all those shapes.”

Interestingly, he said the scrap copper shingles were also fetching a decent price at the salvage yard. About a dozen workers are on-site most days.
The Romanesque original structure, which fits the Polish cathedral style of other Roman Catholic churches throughout the Midwest built to serve Polish immigrant communities and characterized by their large size and ornate design, was built between 1907 and 1913 and served the west side Polish community. It was built at a cost of $150,000, according to the church’s website.

Religious projects are a staple for Owen-Ames-Kimball. The company recently worked on St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Fountain Street Church and Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. Ogden said crews are requesting bids for a new project at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, also on the west side of Grand Rapids, which should get started in another month or so.

“We’ve got everybody working — no one’s laid off right now,” he said, “but I see a slow down in the fall.”
However, the company is also working on several large-scale projects, including Rockford Public Schools, Grand Haven Public Schools, at the Kent County Correctional Facility and at Herman Miller.

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