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Monastery Makeover: Nuns Leave Lasting Legacy of Service in Watertown, South Dakota
The $83 million project is expected to create nearly 1,500 permanent jobs and add housing, child care and commercial space.
- The Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery are transforming their 500-acre Watertown property into The Village at Harmony Hill, a multigenerational development serving both aging nuns and the broader community.
- Facing an aging membership averaging 86 years old, the roughly 30 remaining Benedictine Sisters chose to develop the land as a generational legacy rather than sell and dissolve the monastery.
- Construction is estimated to cost $83 million, generating 2,000 temporary jobs and nearly 1,500 permanent positions while projecting more than $210 million in annual business outputs.
- The project employs a 'womb-to-tomb' approach, placing child care near senior housing to foster intergenerational bonds. "You watch, and the residents will start to brighten up as soon as the children walk in," said Kelsey Belle Kohler, memory care manager at Harmony Hill.
- Watertown city manager Alan Stager noted the development addresses critical shortages in child care, affordable housing, and workforce, positioning it as a model for efficient, community-focused planning.
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Monastery makeover: Nuns leave lasting legacy of service in Watertown, South Dakota – WTOP News
Throughout their entire adult lives, the women of the Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery have served others as educators, health care providers and spiritual leaders. The Catholic nuns, many highly educated, have taught and ministered across the U.S. and in foreign countries. They also have played a role in establishing medical and long-term...
·Chevy Chase, United States
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The Toronto Star+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
Monastery makeover: Nuns leave lasting legacy of service in Watertown, South Dakota
Throughout their entire adult lives, the women of the Benedictine Sisters of Mother of God Monastery have served others as educators, health care providers and spiritual leaders.
·Toronto, Canada
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Total News Sources14
Leaning Left5Leaning Right0Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution64% Center
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources are Center
64% Center
L 36%
C 64%
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