The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas will close Savior Pastoral Center (SPC) in the summer of 2027. Following a review of financial and facility needs, Archbishop Shawn McKnight made the decision and directed archdiocesan leadership to evaluate options for temporarily relocating the chancery offices. SPC and the chancery occupy a complex of six interconnected buildings with shared utilities.
The closure of Savior Pastoral Center follows years of efforts to grow revenue by increasing its business and reducing its deficit. Attempts to sustain and improve the center have included holding the SPARC the Night Gala, a fundraising event, in 2024 and 2025, and the One Faith, One Family, One Future in Christ capital campaign launched in 2018, which sought $10 million for accessibility improvements, essential maintenance work, and renovation of Hunkeler Hall. That component of the campaign did not receive the funding it was seeking, leaving those needs unresolved.
Despite these efforts, revenues have grown only 1% annually, while operating expenses have continued to outpace them at an increase of 3% per year. Additionally, SPC and the chancery buildings face at least $50 million in deferred maintenance and accessibility improvements. Among these needs are six bridges that connect the complex’s six buildings. Due to significant water damage and wear and tear over the complex’s 61-year history, the bridges need repair. One bridge alone cost over $500,000 to fix.
Archdiocesan funding currently covers nearly half of the center’s operating costs. This subsidy, required to operate the center, increased from 34% of its total operating expenses in 2014 to 43% in 2026.
Savior Pastoral Center and the chancery offices occupy 195,000 square feet; the archdiocese needs at most 91,000 square feet for its operations. Because the chancery offices’ utilities run through SPC, keeping the offices in their current location would require ongoing building and grounds maintenance and security after SPC closes. Those costs would approach the current subsidy provided to SPC, and as such, keeping the chancery office in its current location would limit the financial benefit of closing. This requires further consideration of moving the chancery as well. Additionally, there are plans for a new Kansas City Chiefs stadium and a data center adjacent to the complex.
In 2025, the archbishop formed an ad hoc committee to evaluate options for SPC and the chancery offices to remain at the current site. Options presented by JE Dunn Construction ranged from a $54 million estimate to address needed repairs and reduce the complex’s size by demolishing three of its six buildings to a $68 million estimate to demolish all buildings and build new. These estimates did not include soft costs and furnishings.
After receiving the ad hoc committee’s findings and JE Dunn’s estimates, Archbishop McKnight sought the advice of the Archdiocesan Finance Council. The Finance Council recommended that the archdiocese seek a new temporary location for the chancery offices so that SPC’s operation could cease and the buildings demolished.
Then, in 2026, the Archdiocesan Building Commission was created, a 13-member group with expertise in construction, finance, fundraising, real estate, and architecture. After reviewing the ad hoc committee’s recommendations and the Finance Council’s guidance to the archbishop, the Building Commission made the same recommendation to Archbishop McKnight.
The decision to close SPC was difficult considering its history, significance to the archdiocese and groups that use the center, and the impact of the closure on staff. Archbishop McKnight expresses his profound gratitude to the dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly to keep SPC running smoothly and to all who have generously supported it through the years.
The immediate decisions concerning the closure of SPC and potential temporary relocation of the chancery offices are being considered separately from the long-term questions about the property. Options include retaining or selling some or all of the property and locating future archdiocesan facilities on the site or elsewhere.
More details about the timeline, financial and facility challenges, the review process, and considerations for the future will be provided in a forthcoming article in The Leaven, with additional updates shared as plans are finalized.
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