Week 8 - Moving in New Directions

If there's one truth to the New Parish Center, it's that the design was well thought out. All over the project are examples of the emphasis on efficiently meeting the current (and future) needs of the Parish.

An obvious example from this week's exclusive photos is the elevator, on which construction started this week. As the Parish grows, and use of the Parish center expands into the basement, the elevator will allow handicap accessible transportation between floors. The building is also designed to support a second floor, which could be added in the future; putting in an elevator now is a great way to "future proof" the Center.

Less obvious, but still very important, is the foam insulation that lines the basement, which was added this week. This product is designed specifically with grooves that pull water away from the foundation. A no-cost alternative identified by an astute member of the Building Committee, this insulation will improve drainage around the site, and minimize water damage over the life of the building.

Backfilling has begun along the walls of the banquet hall, and block work is beginning for the kitchen area. The kitchen is another examples of sound design, allowing ample work space, and plenty of storage to support all manner of parish gatherings.

This week, the Building Committee met to review final furniture bids. We will be readying our orders for furniture by the end of June so that everything will be in place when the building is ready. Meanwhile, the Technology Specification went out for bid. As with the furniture search, we are looking at a number of local firms in the Tri-Cities area, in this case to provide the cabling, audio/visual, and computing needs of the Parish Center.

Lastly, thank you to all those who have offered feedback regarding the blog. I encourage everyone to utilize the comment links at the end of every post to send us your feedback. I welcome your suggestions, questions about the building, and general feedback about the construction. This is, after all, YOUR Parish Center!

See you next week!