OAKLAND — Since it was completed in 2008, Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light has been hailed as an architectural marvel, but the same design and construction that has drawn such praise is also at the center of a legal dispute over defects including cracking concrete, faulty plumbing and other flaws that have caused damage to the cathedral complex.
The Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay, the incorporated owner of the cathedral, alleges in a complaint filed in the Superior Court of Alameda County that the companies involved in the design and construction of the cathedral complex — a $175 million project — were responsible for various “design and/or construction defects and damages.”
The alleged flaws include tearing drywall throughout the chancery (church offices), damage to various doors and entries throughout the cathedral, cracking of concrete walls and walkways, and the misalignment of ceilings, walls and pipe hangers — all of which, the diocese says, is putting stress on the piping throughout the complex. Water intrusion has caused damage to the cathedral’s below-grade parking structure, the chancery kitchen, Parish Hall, chancery office and mechanical rooms, according to the complaint.
The complaint was originally filed in August 2014 against builders and architects involved in the project, including architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Webcor Construction, Blue’s Roofing and Kendall-Heaton Associates, as well as a slew of subcontractors, designers, suppliers, builders and others it refers to as “Does 1-100” in the original lawsuit. Blue’s Roofing and Kendall-Heaton Associates declined to comment on the complaint. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Webcor did not respond to requests for comment.
Several involved entities, including Webcor, filed cross-complaints, according to court documents. Webcor’s cross complaint alleges that its subcontractors should be responsible for fixing the damage if the court finds the diocese’s claim is valid. Some of those subcontractors subsequently filed cross-complaints invoking clauses in their contracts that they say indemnify them against claims like the lawsuit.
A court-appointed special master has tentatively scheduled a mediation to occur among the parties involved in the lawsuit in late 2017 or early 2018, after “necessary information” has been gathered, according to a letter published in June on the Diocese of Oakland’s website by Vicar General George Mockel, who is also president of the Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay.
A round of testing and inspection of Cathedral Center buildings was completed in December to uncover the reasons behind the water intrusion, sagging of building floors and the problems with doors and cracking drywall, Mockel said in his letter. Consultants and the other parties in the lawsuit are preparing more information at the request of the special master overseeing the mediation process.
“We know this case is taking substantial time to develop, but construction cases generally take more time than other cases because of the extensive testing and evaluation processes that must happen and because a large number of companies were involved in the design and construction process,” Mockel explained in his letter. “The original architect and structural engineer have advised us the Cathedral Center buildings are safe for our employees, visitors and parishioners to occupy.”
Helen Osman, interim director of communications for the diocese, said in an email to this news organization that the diocese began the legal action to ensure that the “responsible parties” pay to fix the damages but said the diocese does not yet know how much those damages will cost.
The construction of the cathedral complex itself cost a hefty sum — a total of $175 million by the time it was completed in 2008. At the start of the diocese’s “Reclaiming Christ’s Mission Together” capital campaign in 2015, the diocese had amassed $114.7 million in bond debt, in part from the construction of the cathedral and other costs.
Initially planned in 2000, the cathedral broke ground in 2005. It replaced Oakland’s Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, which was damaged beyond repair in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.The cathedral drew some criticism during its construction for its steep cost and later for its modern design, but it also earned great praise, particularly in architecture circles.
The November 2016 issue of the journal Architectural Record put the cathedral on a list of the most important works of architecture in the past 125 years — on par with works such as the Empire State Building in New York and Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Chapel in France.
Besides the cathedral building itself, the complex includes a mausoleum, along with a shop, an event center and the City Lights Cafe. A slew of events, concerts and tours are regularly held at the center.
Vicar general Mockel’s June letter said one level of the parking garage will remain closed for the foreseeable future “to limit further deflection of the floor slab and future repair costs.”
According to Osman, the diocese has completed a number of repairs already for safety reasons, including modifying fire doors to shut properly, clearing out obstructed fire sprinkler heads and making plumbing repairs she described as “temporary.”
