Building Project Update (& Meeting on June 9th!)

June 9th: Important Building Project Meeting

Please join us for the next all-parish Building Project Update on Sunday, June 9, after the 10:00 service. The architects from Context will present the results of our engagement with them: several design concepts with estimated costs, as well as their recommendations for addressing the building Existing Conditions analysis. We’re looking forward to your questions and feedback.

As a recap from prior parish meetings, below are the priorities that have been developed over time for our building project.

Priorities:

1. Ensure Accessibility in support of an “all are welcome” experience at St. Pauls: entrances to worship, office, and fellowship spaces, including access between floors, should offer dignified access to all. There should be options for approximately 5 parking spaces, both for accessibility as well as for staff weekday needs.
2. Create the Functional Space we need, to include relocating the main office work area and 3 staff offices from Gale House. There should also be a dedicated choir space for vesting, choir library, and rehearsing; an archives room, and 2-3 additional flex spaces for use as meeting rooms and classrooms. The design concepts should take into consideration the water/mold/dryness issues in the undercroft area.
3. Incorporate Structural/Sustainability/and Security considerations: address our aging roofs, including benefits of updating insulation; consider sustainability and energy stewardship options that take into consideration current and future financial impacts; and consider security in the new layout.
4. Envision a Future Phase Plan for the Land, including a plan for rethinking the Gale House land and ways we could use it in the future.

Timing:
We are nearing the end of the Design Concept Phase, and our next step will be to select a preferred concept. This is all we have contracted for at this point. Input from parishioners continues to be essential to our decision-making.

The next steps, when the parish is ready to move forward, would involve selecting the professionals needed to implement the project (e.g., architect, owner’s project manager, and contractor) as well as raise the funds needed through a capital campaign. This may end up being something we do in phases over time. As has been mentioned previously, we are thrilled to have been given an anonymous donation of $500,000 from a parishioner as seed money for this project.

Hope to see you on Sunday, June 9th at 11:15am! In the meantime, please reach out with any questions about the building project, and/or your interest in being involved.

Thanks!
Your Project Operations Directors
Jennifer Connor, Emily Fagan, Shannon Giordano, Betsy Komjathy
[email protected]