Chapel & Lobby Remodel
OUR CURRENT DILEMMA
Over 50 years ago, our church body built a facility where they could gather to worship and do ministry. That building is now what we call the "chapel," where ministry continues to take place. Grace Kids use this space on Sunday mornings and, thanks to a few wonderful volunteer musicians, are now experiencing live worship before they begin their age appropriate Bible teachings. On Wednesday evenings during the school year, Grace Guys and Grace Girls use that space for games and various activities. Soon, our VBS program will utilize the space for much of the same. In recent years, we have also used this space to host weddings, funerals, anniversary parties, and the infamous All Daughter's Luncheon. Bottom line, this space has been highly utilized for ministry within our congregation.
Here's where the problem comes in: Currently, the condition of this space is less than ideal. As you can see from the gallery above, the carpet is long overdue to be replaced, as patches have started to come unglued and many of the seams have begun to rip. The walls are filled with dents and holes that need to be repaired and the entire place could use a fresh coat of paint. Many of the exterior doors have deteriorated and are in desperate need of replacement, as well as some of those on the inside. Lastly, the space was initially designed for worship in a previous era and was not designed for ministry in the 21st century.
OUR PROPOSED SOLUTION
The above images were created by an interior designer to provide a picture of what some possible improvements to the chapel and lobby might look like. These improvements will not only make the space more aesthetically pleasing, but also much more functional. Again, we hope that this will be a multi-purpose space that can be utilized by various ministries within our church. Planned improvements will include the following:
-New Vinyl Plank flooring in the lobby/entry to match lobby of main building.
-New carpet tiles to replace flooring in the chapel, offices, dining room, and classroom (not yet replaced from previous remodel).
-New broadloom carpet installed on remodeled stage.
-Remodel of stage and walls to create storage areas and media screens.
-New exterior entry doors at front of lobby.
-New exterior doors at the rear of the chapel (2).
-New interior doors between lobby/entry and chapel.
-Removal of unnecessary windows in chapel and lobby/entry.
-Replacement of all interior lights in chapel to make things brighter.
-Repaired and freshly painted walls.
-Acoustic panels to improve sound dampening (less echo).
-New Vinyl Plank flooring in the lobby/entry to match lobby of main building.
-New carpet tiles to replace flooring in the chapel, offices, dining room, and classroom (not yet replaced from previous remodel).
-New broadloom carpet installed on remodeled stage.
-Remodel of stage and walls to create storage areas and media screens.
-New exterior entry doors at front of lobby.
-New exterior doors at the rear of the chapel (2).
-New interior doors between lobby/entry and chapel.
-Removal of unnecessary windows in chapel and lobby/entry.
-Replacement of all interior lights in chapel to make things brighter.
-Repaired and freshly painted walls.
-Acoustic panels to improve sound dampening (less echo).
OUR PLAN OF ACTION
I'm sure the first two questions that come to your mind are these: How much will it cost? How are we going to pay for it?
Here are some answers: The total cost will be somewhere between $140,000-$150,000. You can click on the button below to download a spreadsheet of expenses. This sum includes doing the demolition and much of the flooring installation ourselves, plus some pro-bono work from at least one contractor. Our plan to finance this project is to take out a line of credit from Grace Financial for up to $150,000, which will allow us some cushion should we stumble into any issues during demolition and construction. The goal, however, will be to use up to $50,000 of cash from our savings and to finance a maximum of $100,000 to be paid over the next 20 years (unless we can pay it off early). This would put our total debt at around $330,000, which is less than the average cost of a home in the Pataskala area. We are NOT asking you, the congregation, for additional contributions at this time. You have been incredibly faithful in giving to our church and recently shown extravagant generosity by donating funds for new chairs (which should be arriving within the month). We do not want to burden you with additional giving and believe that this is a small amount to borrow considering how much our property is worth. With that said, if you feel led to contribute to this project, your donations will not be refused. The project scope and plans to finance it are what we will discuss and vote on during our next business meeting after worship on June 23, 2024. All members present at that meeting will be invited to vote.
Here are some answers: The total cost will be somewhere between $140,000-$150,000. You can click on the button below to download a spreadsheet of expenses. This sum includes doing the demolition and much of the flooring installation ourselves, plus some pro-bono work from at least one contractor. Our plan to finance this project is to take out a line of credit from Grace Financial for up to $150,000, which will allow us some cushion should we stumble into any issues during demolition and construction. The goal, however, will be to use up to $50,000 of cash from our savings and to finance a maximum of $100,000 to be paid over the next 20 years (unless we can pay it off early). This would put our total debt at around $330,000, which is less than the average cost of a home in the Pataskala area. We are NOT asking you, the congregation, for additional contributions at this time. You have been incredibly faithful in giving to our church and recently shown extravagant generosity by donating funds for new chairs (which should be arriving within the month). We do not want to burden you with additional giving and believe that this is a small amount to borrow considering how much our property is worth. With that said, if you feel led to contribute to this project, your donations will not be refused. The project scope and plans to finance it are what we will discuss and vote on during our next business meeting after worship on June 23, 2024. All members present at that meeting will be invited to vote.
You might also be wondering, "When will construction take place?"
Our plan is to begin demolition the week after VBS and to have the project completed before Grace Family Nights resume in September. Of course, this is all pending approval by our congregation and our loan provider. Once demolition is finished, we will invite the contractors to complete the work that they have quoted. While more work will certainly need to be accomplished to maintain and improve our facilities, our hope is that going forward, we might be able to finance smaller projects without taking out any additional loans. For example, the flooring in the education wing hallway and classrooms will still need to be replaced in the near future. We intend to include these smaller projects in our maintenance budget in the coming years.
Our plan is to begin demolition the week after VBS and to have the project completed before Grace Family Nights resume in September. Of course, this is all pending approval by our congregation and our loan provider. Once demolition is finished, we will invite the contractors to complete the work that they have quoted. While more work will certainly need to be accomplished to maintain and improve our facilities, our hope is that going forward, we might be able to finance smaller projects without taking out any additional loans. For example, the flooring in the education wing hallway and classrooms will still need to be replaced in the near future. We intend to include these smaller projects in our maintenance budget in the coming years.