Building Study Committee Update

On February 18th, a church conference voted to sign a letter of intent between Cunningham-Limp Development Co. and the church.  The membership also authorized the church to expend no more than $15,000 for architectural and engineering schematic designs. We are excited to announce that with the assistance of Cunningham-Limp we have hired Auger Klein Aller Inc. (AKA), an architectural firm to help us in our first phase of (schematic) design for the building accessibility/hospitality building projects. Auger Klein Aller Inc. has 30 years of experience with both church buildings and historic structures. During this time, Auger Klein Aller Inc. has been the architect for over 150 ecclesiastical projects ranging from $100,000 to $15 million. Stephen Auger, AIA will lead the project for Auger Klein Aller Inc..  The firm has offices in Rochester and Torch Lake, Michigan. 

The committee continues to focus on three areas of potential building enhancement.  1) Improve the functionality and accessibility of the sanctuary chancel; 2) Improve the functionality and accessibility of the parking lot entrance; 3) Add an accessible family restroom on the second level.  We are also exploring both building and programmatic ways to improve our hospitality to outreach guests.

Over the summer, the committee will meet with Steve to explore possible design options.  We hope to have the schematic designs completed by the end of July.  It is our goal to share these concepts with the church community as we proceed.  Following the completion of SD, the project will be given to Cunningham-Limp for cost estimation. We expect that this will take approximately four to six weeks. Once we have both the schematic designs and the cost estimates completed, we will report back to the congregation with recommendations regarding how we may proceed with the project.  Our goal is to share this information by the middle of September. 

On a parallel track, the committee has sent requests for proposals from a small number of fund-raising firms/professionals. We are asking how they might help us assess our fund-raising potential for these projects and if needed, assist us with a capital campaign. We expect to review these proposals in June and July. We will use these proposals to determine if/when to engage this type of consulting. 

We are excited about these important next steps in our process and we look forward to sharing more information with the congregation as it becomes available. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Building Study Committee if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions. 

Blessings,

Building Study Committee:

Julie Falconer, Chair

Pam Boyce

Jeff Cobb

Jeanne Esch

Dean Francis

Bob Miller

Lisa Myers

Pastor Linda Stephen