St. Paul's parish will begin demolishing its Catholic Students' Center this fall in order to build a multipurpose center to accomodate the growing number of Catholic students at Harvard.

The parish estimates that the project will take 18 months, during which the Catholic Students' Association (CSA) will continue to exist without a headquarters.

St. Paul's sold its rectory and parking lot on Bow Street last year for $7 million in part to fund the building of the facility, which will include a new choir school and a expanded student center.

However the transfer of property has been held up because the the church is still responsible for cleaning lead, arsenic and petroleum residues found on the lot in September.

"[The contamination on the lot] has slowed down the schedule for construction," said Father John P. Boles, pastor chaplain of St. Paul's parish. "However, we hope to begin building within the next two months."

The CSA will have to use more Harvard space while the new center is built. "We will use University rooms--in Phillips Brooks House, for example--and because we are affiliated with the United Ministry, Memorial Church has donated use of the Buttrick Room in its basement," said Rushika J. Fernandopulle '89, president of the CSA.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of Memorial Church," Boles said. "We are glad a student organization has the opportunity to use University facilities."

The prospect of the move has not affected the CSA, Fernandopulle said. Membership continues to grow and several new committees and activities were added this year as well. The group draws its membership from the approximately 1300 Catholic undergraduates.

Fernandopulle said that "because everyone is so excited about the new facilities, they are approaching the transition with an optimistic attitude."

"The existing center is too small for our needs; it was built at a time when Catholic students did not represent a significant group [at Harvard]," said Fernandopulle. "The center is not big enough to fit the needs of the present, let alone those of the future."

Boles described the project as "a sign that the community is growing and developing."