On January 17th, Preservation Pennsylvania published the 2011 Pennsylvania at Risk listing, a listing of ten endangered resources in the State. Villa Maria Chapel made the cut. Although it is currently an unused space, the Chapel has been an architectural cornerstone of its residential neighborhood since 1925. Over the last six years Save the Villa Chapel volunteers, a subcommittee of the Erie Center for Design and Preservation (ECDP), have held more than a dozen fundraising events, paid for temporary roof repairs and facilitated communication with the Chapel owners. In an effort to find an adaptive reuse plan and long-term steward for the property, Save the Villa Chapel Committee and ECDP hosted a day-long design charette for the Villa Chapel in September. The charette generated several reuse concepts (see Erie Times-News article), including plans for a restaurant, an apartment building with efficiency units and a combination venue with a day care on the ground floor and space above for events like weddings and recitals. See the proposal prepared by Kidder Wachter Architecture and Design here.

Preservation Pennsylvania has been a great help to the Save the Villa Chapel Committee and the Erie Center for Design and Preservation. We thank them for their support and acknowledgement!