Along with its recent purchase of a building next to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, the Diocese of Honolulu has recently acquired two more properties, one for diocesan use and one on behalf of a city parish.

The purchase of a lot next to the old Catholic Charities Hawaii’s Vineyard Street office is part of the diocese’s long term planning, with a potential use of the two side-by-side plots for a central diocesan building, according to vicar general Father Marc Alexander.

“That’s a big dream that we’d like to consolidate all of our major diocesan offices, not just in one building but in a building space that would really foster collaboration,” he said. “We know that we need to acquire the property now while it’s available.”

However, Father Alexander said that idea is a lower priority than other projects such as the upcoming renovation of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and the development of the 23-acre Ewa property purchased last April.

The immediate plan is to resurface the empty lot at 264 Vineyard St., formerly the site of a gas station, and lease it for parking to generate income. The purchase closed on Nov. 16 for $1.175 million.

Catholic Charities has been moving its main operations to its “Makiki campus,” the former First Presbyterian Church facilities, five minutes from downtown Honolulu in Makiki.

The diocese also closed a $1.1 million purchase of two lots next to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Pauoa Valley on Oct. 26. The 233 Kaia St. property has two houses on it that the parish plans to refurbish and rent out by December or January while they repay the diocese.

Father Khanh Pham-Nguyen, the administrator of Blessed Sacrament and St. Stephen Parish in Nuuanu, said that the property will be the site of a future parish hall, but it may take up to 25 years before the property is paid off. He’s hoping that parishioner contributions will help reduce that time.

While Blessed Sacrament has a hall, buying an adjacent property will help them prepare for growth in the future. “I think with this property Blessed Sacrament is safeguarded for the future,” Father Pham-Nguyen said. “For me it’s a miracle. It came unexpectedly. We didn’t plan for it.”