116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
$10 million raised to build Xavier Catholic Middle School
New generation of donors asked to make ‘sacrificial gift’ to support $45 million project
Feb. 22, 2026 6:00 am
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Background
Xavier Catholic Schools in October 2024 announced it would buy and remodel the former Toyota Financial Services building in Cedar Rapids, at 5005 N. River Blvd. NE, and transform the space into a new middle school.
The school system also bought 11 acres around the building as a campus for the sixth- to eighth-grade school that will replace the Regis and LaSalle Catholic middle schools, which now have about 550 students.
What’s happened since
Xavier leaders earlier this month reported on fundraising for the $45 million project and also showed renderings for Xavier Middle School, which is expected to open in the 2027-28 school year.
They said more than $10 million has been raised to date to renovate and build on the school campus and that the “public” phase of their fundraising is beginning.
Pat Deignan, chair of the finance committee for Xavier Catholic Schools, said it’s exciting to see the middle school plans come to fruition after about a decade of dreaming and planning.
Deignan also has been volunteering his time making calls to potential donors, which he said has been “fun and gratifying.”
“We’re approaching people who have a connection to Xavier, and it’s a great story to tell. It’s never easy to ask people for money, and none of us are professionals at it,” he said.
“We’re just people who have a strong belief in the school and its value to families and the community. … We ask people to make a ‘sacrificial gift.’ The prior generation raised money in the ’90s to build Xavier High School. It’s our generation’s turn.”
Renderings of the $45 million project showcase a chapel that can expand into a common area to seat up to 700 students for Mass, an industrial technology area and “state of the art” science classrooms, a band and choir classroom and athletic facilities, said Chris McCarville, president of Xavier Catholic Schools.
“Already, this is the largest fundraising initiative in the history of Xavier schools,” McCarville said. “We’ll continue fundraising for the foreseeable future to try to get that number as high as we can get it. … I couldn’t be more happy with the support. It’s indicative of how our community feels about this project.”
Education Savings Accounts dollars — public funds for families sending their children to private schools — will not be used to fund the project, school leaders said.
McCarville said volunteers and school officials have visited with about 100 families asking for their financial support. Donors are being asked to commit to a three-year pledge. There have been three separate $1 million commitments, a $500,000 commitment and many six-figure commitments, he said.
Loan, revenue bonds
The school is financing the project with a combination of private fundraising and the private placement of 25 year tax-exempt revenue bonds with Hills Bank. Xavier Catholic Schools is working with municipalities — Palo, Robbins and the Iowa Finance Authority in Des Moines — to facilitate the issuance of the tax-exempt revenue bonds which are concurrently assigned to Hills Bank. The use of this type of financing is common for nonprofits financing large capital projects.
Deignan said there is “no risk,” cost or financial obligation to the municipalities.
“We’re a large employer — almost 600 people — and we educate over 2,300 kids. We’re an economic engine. We’re good for the region. These municipalities are being good neighbors and practicing good governance by using their ability to issue tax exempt debt for the benefit of nonprofits that help drive growth and vitality in the region” Deignan said.
The City of Palo is issuing $19.5 million in revenue bonds (spread over 2025 and 2026), the City of Robbins is issuing $10 million and the Iowa Finance Authority is issuing $15.5 million, Deignan said.
Nothing ‘extravagant’
McCarville is particularly excited about the opportunity to begin offering industrial technology at the middle school level, a program that was started at Xavier High School just last year and has been “wildly popular,” he said.
McCarville said the school is being “fiscally responsible” in the design of the building.
“We’re designing it for exactly what we need for our kids today and in the future,” he said. “We’re building this space for what we need it to be, but we’re not going above and beyond anything extravagant.”
Emergent Architecture designed the school, with Rinderknecht Associates as the general contractor.
Regis Middle School Principal Amanda Allard — who has been named the principal of Xavier Middle School — said it’s amazing to see the community come together to support the project.
“I can’t wait to get to get into that building. I’m excited about not being in a building we have to keep limping along with,” Allard said.
One of the aspects of the new facility she is most looking forward to is the chapel, which will have a capacity of 700 — large enough to seat all students and staff. Right now, if the middle schools want to have an all-school Mass, they have to set it up in their gyms.
“The ability to bring all of our students together in a space designed for our faith gatherings is extremely exciting to me,” Allard said. “As a Catholic, Mass is the pinnacle of what we do. Celebrating the Eucharist, bringing everyone together, having all our middle school students and all of our faculty and staff be in one place, it’s a powerful thing.”
Regis Middle School — formerly Regis High School — opened in 1958. LaSalle Catholic Middle School — formerly LaSalle High School — opened in 1963. Regis and LaSalle high schools merged to form Xavier High School in 1998.
While no decision has been made about what will happen to those two buildings, McCarville said there is a need for another elementary school and early childhood education on the west side of town where LaSalle, 3700 First Ave. NW, is located.
“I can foresee that space still being used,” he said. “Regis is another story. It’s really seen better days.”
Eight metro area Catholic schools united as a single corporation for preschool to 12th grade, called Xavier Catholic Schools, as of July 1, 2024. About 2,500 students attend preschool through 12th grade in the system.
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