Church school's new buildings rise from ashes

Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic School is turning tragedy into a triumph with the opening of 10 new classrooms, an expanded library and a computer lab after parts of the school, including its historic Bevan Hall burned in a June 1996 fire.

The school at 3050 Alta Dr. used the fire as a catalyst to not only rebuild Bevan Hall, that housed the dining commons and gymnasium, but to add the extra classrooms. The new buildings will be dedicated at a ceremony tonight night.

"We've always wanted to expand the school, but it was never a strong possibility because of the location of the buildings," Father Dave Casaleggio said. "Once Bevan Hall burnt it provided us the opportunity to expand."

The new Bevan Hall has been moved to the southeast corner of the school's property. The more than 18,000-square-foot structure will house a new gymnasium as well as a multipurpose room. It is expected to be finished within three weeks, Casaleggio said.

By moving the hall more room was made for the new classrooms, a library and a computer lab on the north side of the property. This portion of the construction tallies more than 13,000 square feet.

The school, that offers classes from kindergarten through fifth grade, also has been made Internet ready, with each classroom being equipped with two computers. The computer lab will open with 35 computers.

"The new rooms mean that we will be able to have two classrooms for each grade level, and that will be a big improvement," Casaleggio said.

The new Bevan Hall will continue to be named after Father James Bevan who served as pastor until 1989. Before serving as the school's gymnasium and dining commons, the building was the original Our Lady of Las Vegas Church for three decades.

The current construction project cost a little more than $4 million with $1.7 million coming from pledges from 1,100 donors. A $1 million insurance settlement and monies from church savings combined to take care of the rest of the bill.

"We had donations from many people and whether they were for $10 or $150,000, they were all important," Casaleggio said. "One lady walked in right after the fire and said she wanted to make a donation and we thought it would be for $25, but she wrote out a check for $150,000."

More than 60 people called the church office to offer donations the day after the fire in 1996. The cause of the fire remains a mystery, as fire officials could not determine how it started.

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