Global Bronze Inc.

Bringing New Structures into Existing Mausolea - Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in North Arlington, New Jersey

Bringing New Structures into Existing Mausolea - Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in North Arlington, New Jersey

We had an opportunity to do something exciting and innovative recently, to efficiently provide new crypts to a cemetery in the midst of a more expansive construction project. That we did it quickly during the winter and matched the physical environment down to the last detail is something of which I’m very proud.

Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum in North Arlington, New Jersey, is a modern mausoleum complex belonging to the Archdiocese of Newark that houses over 10,000 crypts in one area. The existing mausolea have beautiful courtyards and spacious corridors that allow for the accommodation of extra crypts if needed. This feature is particularly important because construction is currently underway on a new mausoleum complex that will not be ready until 2025.

A completed unit of crypts stands behind the statuary at Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum.

To provide a buffer before the new mausoleum is completed, Global Bronze saw an opportunity to build our EZ-Mausolea crypts in the existing courtyards. We submitted our proposal with the Archdiocese of Newark Catholic Cemeteries, and their executive director, Mr. Joseph Heckel, approved.

The construction was overseen by Michael Saul, AIA, director of construction, planning, and development; and me, rep-resenting Global Bronze Inc. We quickly put together all the permit documentation, and the approval process took only a few weeks by using an external architect.

Michael and I agreed on the schedule, and all the fiberglass and granite elements were shipped and delivered to the site from Italy in containers on pallets. These were easily rolled into the interior of the mausoleum without causing any mess or disruption to cemetery operations or other projects happening simultaneously. The same applied to granite shutters and side and trim panels that were in wooden crates.

An external contractor poured the concrete pads and connected them to the existing walkways. The pads were large enough to accommodate family gatherings and casket-lift operations.

There were four units, each with 30 single crypts. Two of them were built under existing balconies of the second floor of the mausoleum, and the other two were built in open areas exposed to the elements in the courtyards.

Despite a three-week delay due to unusually cold weather, the assembly of the structures was quick. The mausolea units were finished and approved by the management team from start to finish in five weeks. This included building a metal roof structure covered with metal sheets and spouts, along with rain gutters connect-ed to the existing water drainage system.

The ventilation was connected to the roof (like the existing crypt ventilation), and the drainage was directed to small wells at the back of each crypt unit.

The granite finishing was sourced from the same Italian granite quarry as the existing granite to facilitate a matching appearance.

The units have several innovative features, starting with the mechanical precision of all crypts, their hermetic capabilities, elegant finishes, and a very innovative and simple hanging system (no more springs to deal with). Small blocking plates under the rosettes allow for the release of only one corner of adjacent crypt corners, protecting the other shutters from sliding down. The crypts are attractive inside, and there is no need for beads to slide the casket in. All internal shutters are very elegantly designed and fit precisely into the openings of the crypts. The bottoms of the crypts have trays already molded (a built-in design) to retain at least five gallons of liquids. Therefore, no extra trays are needed.

The construction of the crypts took place during the building of a new modern mausoleum complex at Holy Cross.

The public reception of the new structures has been positive, and we received a number of inquiries about their availability for purchase during the construction.

This type of small- to medium-size mausoleum structure benefits cemeteries that cannot afford large mausoleum construction, as it allows them to finance the expansions from the revenue cash flow. When the first-phase crypts are sold out, another pallet with more crypts arrives, and a new addition is assembled by the contractor or cemetery staff, since the installation is not complicated. Global Bronze Inc. offers full assembly or supervisory services to train the staff.