Home
Minister
Young Church
Music 
Governance 
Calendar
This Week
  

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Our Building Project*

*But Were Afraid to Ask
You may either read this as a single document or click on each question to go to each answer:

The questions

Why did we get started on this whole building project in the first place?
As far back as 1994, it was clear that the continued growth of our congregation was compelling us to focus on several pressing needs:
  • The need for additional, and handicapped-accessible, restroom facilities. Our only facilities were/are located in the Parish Hall, are small, and up a half-flight of stairs.
  • The need for an expanded "community space," most noticeable during the press of coffee hour, but also problematic at our annual auction, Fellowship event and other special programs.
  • The need for more, and dedicated, classrooms for our Young Church program. Young Church enrollment had doubled from 80 to 160 enrolled children. Classes were crowded, noisy (because of shared space), and constantly interrupted by foot traffic.
  • The need for the offices of the minister and church secretary to be handicapped accessible. (Back to the questions)

Why has it taken us seven years to arrive at a solution for these needs?
Mostly, because the Space Needs Committee has tried to be very careful in its approach. The progress of the committee has been linear, but we have had to take careful steps, at several junctures, to assess the congregation's needs, consider the requirements of working with a historic building, and verify the parish's health as an organization and financial ability to fund such a project. (Back to the questions)

So what does the current building plan include?
The current plan--which we call Phase 1--primarily would involve build-out of the church basement. This space is ideal in several ways. First, the folks who built the church 200 years ago apparently expected the basement to one day be renovated, and little excavation (perhaps only 1 foot) will be needed to make it usable. In addition, the basement is large, offering us 4000 square feet of usable space. Because the cost of building out this space is significantly less than the cost of any new construction, this plan is the most economical possible. (Back to the questions)
What would go in the basement?
Current plans are for the offices of the minister, RE Director, Music Director, and Administrator to go there. In addition, there are plans for 4 classroom/meeting spaces, an open meeting area/chapel space, handicapped-accessible rest rooms, a small food prep area, and a large amount of storage. (Back to the questions)
What work would be done in the Parish Hall?
Under Phase 1, the Parish Hall would remain largely as is, except for the removal of the first floor offices and the installation of some handicapped accessible rest rooms behind where the offices are now. The net result will be a significant increase in the size of the "coffee hour" space. (Back to the questions)
Why do we have to work in phases?
Cost, mostly. When the Space Needs Committee did a schematic estimate of the cost of the proposed building project last May, we came up with a figure of roughly 2.2 million. That was about a million more than what we thought reasonable for the congregation to fund. (Back to the questions)
How do you know what the congregation can afford?
In the spring of 2000, the Space Needs group hired consultant Wayne Clark again, this time to do a "feasibility study" for our congregation. Based on his research with a cross-section of the congregation, Wayne determined that we could hope to raise about $800,000 in a capital campaign, and fund a project that totaled about 1.2 million. (Back to the questions)
Will everything be handicapped accessible under Phase 1?
Phase 1 will make the church and Parish Hall much more accessible than before. The offices of the minister, administrator, RE Director, etc. will be accessible via a direct path from the town parking lot, which is on the same level as the basement. In addition, we will add a handicapped-accessible entrance to the first floor of the church, on the right-hand side of the vestibule, where a window now exists. Graded pathways between that entrance and the Parish Hall will allow wheelchair access between buildings.
Because of cost, a few accessibility issues had to be left for Phase 2. At present, for example, there will be no interior elevator connecting the basement and first floor of the church, or the church basement with the first floor of the Parish Hall. These connections must be made via the handicapped-accessible walkways outside. (Back to the questions)
What else will be undertaken in Phase 2?
Phase 2 might include a renovation of the Parish Hall, an interior connection between the Parish Hall and the church, and the elevators described above. The advantage of having some time (at least 3 years) between Phase 1 and 2, is that it will allow us to reevaluate our needs in a few years, and consider whether these plans make sense. (Back to the questions)
How will the historic exterior of the church be affected by these plans?
Hardly at all. The front of the Meeting House (church) will remain unaltered, except for the removal of the fence, and the addition of some nice landscaping and pathways between the church and Parish Hall. The new handicapped entrance is on the right-hand side of the vestibule, replacing a window. The side-yard to the left of the church will be graded to allow light into the basement, but prevent the offices and entrances from being overly apparent in the side-view. (Back to the questions)
What is the risk to the church of this renovation? Might it collapse?
The entire renovation will be supervised by a structural engineer who specializes in historic renovation. Happily, our plans include very little excavation and little or no removal of ledge, so nothing should compromise the foundation of the church. (Back to the questions)
What is the price tag for Phase 1?
Our current estimate, obtained from a reliable local contractor, is about $800,000. Given the reality of rising costs and the need to plan for contingencies, we are projecting the final price tag to be about a million. An administrative arm of the Building Committee will be charged with carefully monitoring costs during construction. (Back to the questions)
Will all this be covered by a capital campaign?
Based on our feasibility study, we expect to raise at least $800,000. Some churches have found that they raise more than expected. But if not, we expect to finance the shortfall with some combination of mortgage, endowment funds, and external grants. (Back to the questions)
Who will raise the funds and oversee the project?
Assuming the congregation votes, on April 22, to proceed with the project, our current Space Needs Committee will disband, and the Parish Committee will form three groups to guide the renovation: an administrative group to oversee construction, a finance group to raise funds and a communications group, to keep the congregation apprised of events. If you are interested in participating in any of these groups, we welcome your involvement. (Back to the questions)
When will the capital campaign take place? How does the pledging work?
Ideally, the capital campaign will take place next fall. You will be asked to make one pledge to be fulfilled over a three-year period. (Back to the questions)
Not to backtrack, but did we fully consider other options to building, like renting?
Absolutely. The weighing of alternatives was more complicated than can be quickly summarized here, but just briefly:
  • Buying or leasing space. Cost and availability of appropriate space were factors. However, even using space from the Montessori School next door has created complications for our Young Church program, such that they prefer to utilize our own facilities as much as possible.
  • Dual services. Space in the pews is not a problem--only space for Young Church, coffee hours, events, etc. Having two Young Church sessions would add cost, require more teaching volunteers, impact on YC choirs, etc.
  • Renovating the basement of the Parish Hall. Not enough space would be gained. Headroom is insufficient. Ledge is a problem. Access is a problem. We use some of that space for storage, workshop areas.
  • Razing the Parish Hall and building a new one. To build a new Parish Hall with the same amount of space we are gaining by utilizing the basement of the church, the cost would be more than double that of the current plan.
  • Adding on to/connecting back of Parish Hall and church. Given the area, there is no way to gain the amount of space we will gain from the church basement. And again, the cost of new construction is much higher than the cost of renovating. (Back to the questions)

How about a quick review of this Space Needs history, so I can understand how you've covered all this ground?
No problem. In 1994, the congregation invited Ed Lynn, a UU minister and architect, to come talk to us about the steps that we, as a parish, might take to evaluate our space needs. Ed recommended three initial steps, including doing measured drawings, developing an architectural program, and completing an engineering study.

These steps were all completed over the next few years. Measured drawings were done by architects Andy Sidford and Bill March in March 1996. As the first step in developing an architectural program, then-Parish Chair Steve Krusemark conducted a survey of the "space needs" of the various programs and committees of the church. In addition, John Harwood founded and chaired a Comprehensive Planning Committee that explored the option of building, but disbanded after recommending that an engineering study be undertaken (it was completed in March 1988) and that the congregation needed to get its financial house in order before considering a capital campaign. (Back to the questions)
What was involved in this financial house-cleaning?
We needed to balance our budget and discontinue taking money from the endowment for operating expenses. In order to do this, we needed to increase the amount of money obtained in our annual canvass. (Back to the questions)
And did we?
Yes. UUA consultant Wayne Clark helped us reevaluate the way we operated our canvass. In the three years since this time, we have doubled the amount of money we obtain from the canvass, and have operated on a balanced budget. In addition, we have introduced stronger fundraising events, enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth for our endowment, and rented space in our steeple to cell phone companies. (Back to the questions)
So, what happened next?
In 1998-9 Ron Pullins took the work done by Steve Krusemark and the Comprehensive Planning Committee, and conducted several open meetings to confirm the space requirements of the parish and to convert those space-needs considerations into an architectural program. In addition to the needs mentioned above, some other goals were listed. They included:
  • The need for fire suppression/sprinklers
  • The desirability of an interior connection between the Parish Hall and Meeting House
  • Preservation of historic integrity of church design and architecture
A Space Needs Committee was officially reestablished under Ron's leadership, and proceeded to hire architect Bill Soupkoff of TMS Designs to develop some preliminary plans. (Back to the questions)
Those were great plans! What happened to them?
Nothing. We are still working from those plans, only modifying them somewhat to complete the project using a phased approach. (Back to the questions)
Will Phase 1 include a fire-suppression system?
Yes. It will include sprinklers for the Meeting House and a deluge system between buildings. (Back to the questions)
Has anyone figured maintenance costs into the price tag for this project?
Yes. The rule of thumb is that maintenance costs will be 4% of construction costs. (Back to the questions)
While the church is being renovated, will we need to have services elsewhere?
No. No work will be done on Sundays, and any minor disruption of the facilities will be planned/scheduled to be as unobtrusive as possible. (Back to the questions)
Once the basement is in use, will we hear noise from below during services?
We are taking every precaution in terms of soundproofing to prevent this. In addition, we can adjust the location of RE classrooms to ensure that the quieter age-groups have class under the sanctuary, and noisier age-groups remain in the Parish Hall. (Back to the questions)
Can we get income from renting space in the newly renovated building?
Possibly. That's something that needs to be determined, and will likely be looked at by the finance arm of our building project committee. (Back to the questions)
Take me home!