Building, Construction, and Real Estate

Diocesan Building Commission Members

• Dr. Paul Lang, Chairman
• Msgr. James Bartylla
• Mr. Ben Delzer
• Rev. Greg Ihm
• Mr. Kirk Keller
• Rev. Thomas Kelley
• Mr. Damian Lenshek
• Mrs. Jill McNally
• Mr. William Ryan
• Rev. Andrew Showers
• Mr. Peter Szotkowski
• Mr. Mike Wick

The Office of Building, Construction and Real Estate assists pastors with construction management and engineering supervision in all building construction, major remodeling projects, and real estate transactions for parishes, schools, and other institutions of the Diocese.

To inform the office of an upcoming construction or remodeling project, please fill out this form.

Just as assembling the right team early in a project’s planning phase is critical, having the Office of Building, Construction and Real Estate partner with parish leadership and the parish building committee and working with the Diocesan Building Commission helps to ensure that sound and timely decisions are made to reach parish goals while saving significant time, money, and resources.

Any time your parish takes on a project, you must notify the Diocese of Madison, prior to undertaking any action.   The policies and procedures set forth in the Parish Administrative Manual help inform and guide you in building, construction, and real estate projects.  If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Diocesan Construction Coordinator at 608-821-3012 or Paul Lang at: [email protected] 

The Diocesan Building Commission is a group of diocesan priests, staff, and construction professionals who, assisted by trusted professional consultants, seek to:

• Assist parishes, schools, and other institutions in planning new construction, property improvement, and maintenance projects
• Serve as a resource for questions or concerns of parishes, schools, and cemeteries regarding construction and real estate matters, from the point of initial concept, development, architecture, engineering, and construction, to completion of work
• Review, evaluate, and make recommendations on all projects, including real estate transactions, referred to the Commission by the Bishop of Madison.

A parish may wish to lease vacant property for commercial (non-residential) purposes. The Diocese of Madison must be informed of any plans in this regard. Please notify the Chairman of the Diocesan Building Commission if your parish is considering any leasing arrangement.

The relevant USCCB complementary norm regulating the leasing of church property reads, in part:

“The valid leasing of ecclesiastical goods owned by a parish or other public juridic person subject to the governance of the diocesan bishop requires consent of the diocesan bishop when the market value of the goods to be leased exceeds $100,000 or the lease is to be for 1 year or longer.”

The Bishop of Madison will consider the following before issuing his consent in writing:

1. Catholic identity clause
2. Insurance
3. Indemnification provisions
4. Landlord’s right to early lease termination
5. Determination of the responsible party for Repairs, Maintenance and Utilities

• Boiler Info on Risk Control