Building project

Beloved parishioners and friends of St. John,

We are happy to bring you updates on the latest developments for our building project.

3/22/22 Update: After Covid brought inspections to a standstill and caused a large backlog, we finally have our Certificate of Occupancy. Phase 1 of the project is complete.

Older Updates

9/9/19 Update: The project is almost complete. The church sign, which needed to be relocated, is being reinstalled today. We are waiting for the city to reconfigure the street corner. Then, we can complete the sidewalk. The door for the exit from the altar still needs to be replaced. And that is about it. We hope that, by God's grace, the remaining items will be completed soon.

As noted before, it has been a blessing to be able to complete this phase without borrowing any external funds. However, we do still need support to replenish the existing funds that were used for this project, as well as a preparation for a future phase 2, so contributions to the project are still very much appreciated.

For details about the scope of the project, please see the files at the bottom of the page

We look forward to letting you know about the actual completion of this phase of the construction project in the near future.

1/9/19 Update: Perhaps the main reason there has not been an update in a while is that, once the project started, it has taken a lot of work and energy on the part of the parish. The project (phase 1) started in June and was supposed to be completed in October. However, we have had many delays, for many different reasons (weather, material fabrication problems, communication issues between the city/contractor/architect, new requirements from the city after the project started, more manufacturing problems), so we are not quite done. But we are close: once the replacement hydraulic cylinder for the elevator gets here, the elevator can be installed, then the flooring can go in, and the inside part of the project will be finished. The exterior ramp will have to wait for warmer weather in spring.

11/14/17 Update: Well, it is going to have to be two phases. We have been unable to find enough savings or parts that could be delayed while still putting up the entire structure and having it be functional and well done. So we are now working to finalize what will go into the first phase of the project. Another meeting with the architect is planned for next Monday. The hope is to have things in place for a ground-breaking after Pascha in 2018.

8/30 Update: Well, we have some more work to do. The total projected cost once bids came in was $170,000 above what our parish can afford to spend. We are trying to work with the architect and contractor to reduce some of the cost, while at the same time considering breaking the project down in two phases.

We are also currently in a delay, as we try to understand the impact on our project of some local building regulations that apply to our location in the downtown area.

Putting all that together means that our start is delayed to the spring of 2018. If nothing else, this gives us an opportunity to bridge that $170k gap from the fundraising side, as well.7/24 Update: The plans have been sent to Rinderknecht, so the process of putting together the Guaranteed Maximum Price can begin. This should take approximately four weeks.Two copies of the final plans have been delivered to the church, as well.

5/26 Update: The mechanical and electrical engineers have begun making their final adjustments to the plans. We also have updated poster boards. These will be printed and available soon for viewing full-size at church.

5/15 Update: After the latest meeting, we now have poster boards with near-final plans. The boards can be seen here

4/28 Update: We have had two meetings, one with the architect and contractor, the second only with the architect, working to refine the plans, which are now close to construction-ready. The next meeting to review the plans will be Monday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. After final plans are agreed upon, the process of putting together a guaranteed maximum price is expected to take about a month.

3/14/17 Update: At our special parish assembly on Sunday, March 12, our parish voted to proceed with the full project. Our next step is to meet with the architect and contractor and make decisions for the final construction documents. As things currently stand, the meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. Your continued support through both prayers and donations is appreciated.

2/22/17 Update: As often seems to happen as buildings go from concepts to reality, the estimated cost for our project has increased. The full project is currently estimated to cost about $1.0 million. In order to bring the cost closer to the original $750,000 budget, we are considering splitting the project into two phases, the second of which can be delayed until additional funding is identified. If the two phases are done separately, the estimated cost is roughly $850k for phase 1 and 200k+(3% per year of delay) for phase 2.

For the details of what each phase entails, as well as our current fundraising status, please see the image links at bottom of this page.

12/7/16 Update: Following a first estimate from Rinderknecht and a meeting to refine that estimate, we are currently working to bridge an approximately $150,000 gap between our available funding and the estimated cost. We expect part of this bridging to come by reducing the cost through further meetings with the architect and contractor. At the same time, your donations help us bridge that gap from the other direction, by increasing the finances we have available for the project. Thank you for your generosity.

As of November 1, 2016, we have selected a contractor for our project and are focused on breaking ground in the spring of 2017! Rinderknecht Associates will be working with us to bring this project to completion. They are already working with our architect to prepare for a spring 2017 groundbreaking. We have had several visits to our campus by the contractor, structural engineer, and landscape architect.