Holy Cross breaks ground on new funeral home
SPOKANE—The sounds of cement trucks beeping rang through the dusty atmosphere of 7111 N. Division Street on Thursday morning. A moderate crowd began forming outside the chain link while workers poured foundations on the former site of the OYO Hotel.
As golden spades struck dirt, Holy Cross Funeral and Cemetery Services celebrated the beginning of construction on their new funeral home.
“We actually started moving dirt about two months ago,” Executive Director of Holy Cross Rick McLean said. “But the project itself, we've been working on this for about three and a half years.”
There hasn’t been a new funeral home built in Spokane in nearly 20 years, which McLean says, will provide the most “state of the art” facility and service to the area. Holy Cross has been partnering with local funeral homes to provide a spectrum of services to the families they serve. The new building will allow those services to be offered exclusively with Holy Cross staff and in their own facilities. The new building is adjacent to the eastern border of Holy Cross Cemetery in north Spokane.
The groundbreaking ceremony began at 10 am with opening remarks from McLean, followed by Funeral Director, Theresa Sullivan. Bishop Thomas Daly and the Vicar General, Father Darrin Connall, were in attendance. The bishop led the morning in prayer, blessed the site and joined in the groundbreaking festivities.
The building project will take place in two phases. The first will be the primary building, with traditional burial preparation rooms and a crematory. Phase two will include a chapel and gathering space.
“Once [both phases] are complete, we really hope that we can open up services to the greater Christian community,” McLean said.
The project's first phase is expected to be completed in March 2024.
