December 11 Building Update 034
“The Big Picture”
There’s A LOT happening on the building front these days, so I want to give you “TheBig Picture” of where we are currently with regards to the project. But first, let’s take a quick look at the finalized giving numbers for November:
Regular Giving $46,556.02
Building Surge $15,106.38
TOTAL $61,662.40
Financial. As of the end of November, the pay-off on the land loan is down to 97K! Considering the principal balance was over 310Kin December 2019, this is a very remarkable achievement! With regards to Surge & Stretch Challenge goals set for 2020, we have been successful with the below:
1) establishing a Reserve/Contingency Fund of 100K+
2) paying all EquipLabs fees and survey costs as specified in the Financing Plan
3) generating over 60K in total giving 8 out of the 11 months so far this year which has enabled AR to reduce the land loan principal by 180K+since the beginning of the Surge & Stretch Challenge back in March
Civil Engineering. The Executive Team authorized Cypress Engineering to perform the Schematic Design in September. Since then, Will Rogan with Cypress have met with Dorchester County Zoning and Dorchester County Water & Sewer (DCWS). The discussions from these meetings have led to a revision by Equip Studio of the original Phase 1 Site Plan and Masterplan. The changes are being driven by zoning requirements and water & sewer access and include but are not limited to the following:
1) main building has moved closer to Summers Drive and rotated 90 degrees clockwise as parking and outbuildings are not allowed forward of the main building
2) road access and entrance has shifted to the left side of the property
3) retaining pond has been enlarged and starts at the front and extends along the right property line all the way to the back
4) due to flood elevation and building requirements, retaining walls have been strategically placed in the design which should reduce fill dirt requirements and thereby land preparation costs
5) even though a drop-off circle is allowed forward of the main building by zoning, the changes have made it necessary to move the drop-off circle to the left of the main building
6) food truck pavilion has moved to the left of the main building near the left property line
7) a plaza has been added in front of the main entrance between the drop-off circle and food truck pavilion
NOTE: while the site plan has changed significantly the floor plan conceived during the Equip Labs back in August remains unchanged
Geotechnical. We received the completed Geotechnical Report by Terracon via Trident Construction on Friday, December 4th; however, we have yet to have the opportunity to meet with our Civil Engineers, Will Rogan and Matt Halter. We hope to schedule a meeting next week at the Church Office to review the report.
Utilities. Our “in-house” Civil Engineer, Matt Halter, has met with the Lennar Land Development Manager concerning bringing utilities to the property. Discussions regarding utilities and drainage easements along with the possibly of cost sharing in extending nearby water and sewer lines are ongoing.
Summary. While the construction of the new facility in Summers Corner has many significant challenges still associated with it, we are working hard to overcome the obstacles and mitigate the issues which mainly manifest themselves with an increased cost to the project. This is why your continued support and financial gifts are so important to this effort!
If you would like to make a contribution to the General Fund or Building Surge, you can do so here.
Derrick Horres, Project Leader