New $5.6 million Windmoor Study Center planned in South Bend

The Roman Catholic study center that has operated for 56 years at 1121 N. Notre Dame Ave. is preparing to build a new $5.6 million facility on the same site.

“The house was old. We’ve been cramped for space,” Windmoor Director Mike Seelinger said.

Windmoor is owned and operated by the Association for Educational Development, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization. The group recently demolished the old building, a house dating from the 1920s. The center is affiliated with Opus Dei, an institution of the Roman Catholic Church.

The mission of Windmoor won’t change, Seelinger said. It will continue to serve as a residence and spiritual center for up to 16 men. Most residents are students at the University of Notre Dame, although the center isn’t formally affiliated with the university.

Seelinger has served as Windmoor director for about 10 years. He earned three degrees at Notre Dame and works at the university as an adjunct professor of engineering.