It was with these funds that he was able to build a new mission house at the corner of Great Jones and Lafayette streets, which came to be known as the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin.[4] The cornerstone of the Manhattan building was laid in 1879. The plot of land, which was previously occupied by a Protestant church, cost $70,000 and the building cost $160,000 to build.[5] It was occupied by 1881.[3]