Week 11 - Make the Connection...

A lot of the discussion regarding the Parish Center has been focused on the impact it will have on the Parish: The meeting space it will provide, the centralized office environment, the gathering space, even the additional accessibility, convenience, and security a new building will provide. It's important that we talk about such things, because we're essentially asking the Parish to take a leap of faith about what the building will become. By describing some of the physical plans for the project, people can get a feel for what the building will DO. But there's another side to this project, and it's one I hadn't thought much about until this weekend. It's about being connected.

At the St. Stan's Polish Festival, I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of people about the project as part of the Capital Campaign booth. While we had all the technical information ready, the thing everyone wanted to see was our artist's rendering. They wanted to see what it was going to look like, how it would fit into the campus. They wanted to see the CONNECTION.

The reality is, the building is about more than conference rooms and banquet halls, furniture or technology. It's about building a home for our parish -- a cohesive, flowing unit that, like a family, is greater than the sum of its parts by its connection.

It takes a little imagination, but this week you can start to get a feel for this connection. You can see it (via our photo album) in the work begun this week on the Parish Circle -- the center of our campus -- providing access and connection to all of our campus buildings.

You can see it in the way the new sidewalk surrounding the rectory flows into the sidewalks surrounding the church, connecting the parish to its clergy.

You can see it in the prep work for the new drive adjacent to Farragut St. and the handicap lot, connecting old and new, work and play.

You can even see it in the building itself, with the continuation of the stairwell (connecting present with future), and the conduit that has been run underground that will connect one building with the other for phone and data.

Everything's connected, because we're all connected. Connected as a country as we celebrate our independence next week. Connected in our faith, and in our mission in the church. Connected as a family.

Happy 4th of July!

Week 10 - Objects in Mirror Really ARE Larger than they Appear

This week the Building Committee got its first opportunity to crawl inside the new Parish Center and review the construction progress up close. All agreed that seeing the building up close is very different than viewing the plans on paper!

A representative from Hendrick was on hand to answer committee member's questions about various aspects of the construction. He also pointed out a few interesting finds made by the site crews, including wire-wrapped wooden water mains, and a clay marble that somehow survived excavation.

Pictures from the site review are available in our photo album.

This week, you will likely notice that the fence line for the construction site has been moved again. This is necessary in order to begin the site work required for the new dropoff circle in front of the rectory. As always, we ask for your patience and understanding. We're moving as fast as we can in order to minimize the impact to the parish. In fact, ten weeks into construction, we actually find we're AHEAD of schedule by a day or so.

In other news, the majority of the furniture has now been selected. Fr. Bill met with the firms involved this week to select fabrics and finishes. Next stop: technology, with bids being due at the end of next week.

Have a great week!

Week 9: Don't Blink....!

It's true what they say about a watched pot.

I was out of town for most of this week at a conference for my "other" job, and was absolutely floored at what greeted me upon my return.

This week's photo album entries make up a complete walk-around of the work site, and reveal a tremendous amount of work accomplished just this week. The elevator shaft is now extended up through the first floor, as is the public stairwell near the entrance to the hall. Over in the banquet hall, the kitchen walls are going up, and the area has been staked out around the entrances to the hall.

Of particular interest this week is the construction of a larger "mock wall", showing the materials that will be used on the exterior of the building. This is our first real glance at what the finished building will look like, and gives the Capital Campaign Committee the information they need to start ordering bricks for the memorial walk.

It may be just a coincidence that all this happened while I was gone, but just in case, I'm willing to take a few extra vacations this year. :)

Until next week!

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!

Week 7 - You can't make a Bobcat take the Stairs...

Week 7 brings with it the start of asbestos removal in the old High School building. Dore Enterprises is in charge of the removal, which involves spraying down the contaminated material and scooping it up for disposal. The scooping is done via the use of a Bobcat. The folks at Dore found a unique solution for getting a Bobcat onto the third floor to start its work. You can view their solution in our photo album.

With the start of this work, the Parish Offices are now open in their temporary home in the youth room. The address and phone numbers of the Parish remain the same.

This week also happens to contain Memorial Day. We recognize and remember the sacrifices of our military to keep our country free. We also pause to remind ourselves of the sacrifices our ancestors made in founding our Parish and establishing our campus. May our work continue the vision they began!

See you next week!