Week 12 - Backstage at the Magic Show

For me, the construction of the new Parish Campus is a bit like a magic show. During the week, I am typically at work while most of the construction is going on. One evening a week (sometimes two) I get the opportunity to come into Bay City to see what magic has been done since my last visit.

Since I'm on vacation this week, I actually got a chance to get out to the site while the wizards were doing their thing, and as it turns out, the metaphor lives on. A great number of projects are all underway simultaneously, all caught in this week's photo album. On one end of the site, workers are laying a foundation for a new transformer for the hall, while on the other end the demo team continues to haul scrap out of the old parish center to prepare for the "sawing in half" trick in late July. In between, conduit -- our invisible string -- is going in. Meanwhile, heavy equipment waves its big wand to make the elevation difference between the school parking lot and the Grant Street disappear.

Fireworks pale by comparison!

Like all great shows, backstage at a magic show is a pretty frantic place. There's a lot of planning required to determine how the next set of tricks will occur, and to keep the show moving along smoothly. In our case, Hendrick is working hard to plan what steel is needed first, and how it will be staged. Wakely & Associates, our architect and director, keeps track of the script to make sure the show meets expectations. The Building Committee is figuring out what needs to happen (and when) to make the overhead lines disappear. All the while, the Capital Campaign Committee works to keep the doors open and the curtain up. It's a great crew. But then, it has to be.

October (and with it our partial occupancy permit) seems so far away now, but when the big reveal comes it will have seemed like a mere blink of the eye; a slight of hand.

Until then, we enjoy the anticipation!