A three-story building has been leased on the northwest corner of W. Peachtree and Fourth streets to centralize all offices of the archdiocese, Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan said this week.

The building contains 16,000 square feet and will house all the administrative offices of the archdiocese.

Father Noel Burtenshaw, chancellor of the archdiocese, said that much time had been spent in formulating the plans to centralize.

“Many of our offices,” said Father Burtenshaw, “were housed in the old Marist Building and the remainder were spread in different areas throughout the city.

“The new building will give us the opportunity of bringing them together to more economically administer the different departments of the archdiocese.”

The new building, which is almost ten years old, will house the archbishop’s office, the Chancery, the Metropolitan Tribunal, Office of Catholic Education, Office of Religious Education, Catholic Social Services, Family Services, Office of Urban and Rural Affairs, Agency for Exceptional Children, Office of South American Resettlement and the Georgia Bulletin office.

The building will also contain a 100 seat auditorium, two conference rooms, an audio-visual library and a chapel. It is hoped that the necessary renovations on the building will be completed within two months.

The lease of this building has been made possible through income that will be received from parking on the archdiocesan property on Ivy Street.

Through the help of the Archdiocesan Finance Council and the Archdiocesan Property Commission, a lease on the Ivy Street parking will bring $43,000 per year to the archdiocese. In order to set up this parking facility the Marist Building and the Crawford Building will be demolished.

The new center on West Peachtree Street will cost $52,000 per year while it is being leased. The archdiocese has a firm option to purchase in three years.

The lease on the building is a gross lease to the archdiocese, which means that all operational costs, including utilities and maintenance will be paid by the landlord.