The
A/V (audio/visual) design is almost done. There will be a projection
screen up front with a projector hidden behind the wall and a second
screen on the back wall. A control center is planned on the left/rear
side of the nave. The outside will have low maintenance
materials. The site will have new small plantings that are hardy
and common to the New England area. Detailed costs for all of
these decisions are being collected and reviewed. Some costs for
optional systems such as air conditioning are now known.
July
2010
The
detailed design is now focused on the roof design. It will be a
combination of steel beams and wooden rafters. The fire safety
sprinkler system is being designed as well as the HVAC (heating and
ventilation). Windows and doors are next.
June
2010
Detailed
Design
drawings are continuing to be made with more details and options
decided. A request has been made to the Mass Highway department to
allow us to move our front access onto Route 28/Main Street ("curb
cut").
May
2010
Great News! The town planning board
and the town conservation committee have approved the site plan and the
location of the new sanctuary (phase one). This means that they agree
with the ways we plan to manage the storm water on the property, fire
safety and other important items. We still need to get a building
permit but that will not be done until the design is complete and the
construction costs are known. Detailed design drawings continue to be
created and are being reviewed.
April
2010
The
Design Drawings have progressed to the point where the committee and
the Council want to review the progress and be sure that we are meeting
our needs for phase one. The modified site plan has been submitted to
the town and we will get a hearing in mid-May. The Planning board is
also scheduled to met with us in May. If all goes well, we will be
cleared to proceed. We also met with audio experts on the audio-visual
needs.
March
2010
The
modified site plan is complete and we are trying to schedule another
meeting with the town to review and hopefully approve the plan. Once
approval is obtained, other permitting can be requested. While we
wait, the architect has started the Design Drawings. These detailed
drawings are used to develop a detailed cost for the construction.
Decisions like doors, windows, siding are made in this phase.
February
2010
The
peer review of thesite plan
was completed and it had some suggested changes to the design. These
included some changes to drainage and the use of more native plants in
the wetland areas. These changes are being incorporated into the site
plan.
January
2010
A
meeting was held with the town planning board to discuss the approval
of the expansion
of Faith Lutheran Church. The outcome was favorable but they still need
to read the peer review report. That report is expected soon.
December
2009
Two
meetings were held with the Town. The site plan was received favorably
by the conservation commission with some suggestions for changes. The
state DEP submitted some written
concerns about the site design that they want the Town to address. The
normal way to resolve these concerns is through a "peer" review where a
second independent civil engineer reviews the plans and submits
her
report. This is now taking place. Another meeting with the town is
scheduled for January. We are also working to select a contractor
partner to develop a buildable design within budget.
We have
decided to pursue a GMP contract with
Murphy Construction of Newburyport, MA.
November
2009
A Notice of Intent to expand the
facilities of Faith Lutheran Church was sent to the Town Of Andover.
Several meetings with different boards will be required starting with
two in December and more in January. Check the Town web page
http://andoverma.gov/planning/
for dates
of public hearings. We also need to involve the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts because we plan to move the entrance to the church
further south along Route 28. This meeting is not yet scheduled. The
design continues to
gain detail and engineering solutions.
October 2009
The
"neighbors"
presentation
was
held
where
concerns
were
addressed
and
encouraging
comments were received. Along with the site plan, this
month, a landscape plan has been created that the town needs to
approve. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, our date(s) to present
our plans to the town have been pushed into December. Fund raising
continues.
September
2009
We have started the detailed design
phase of the new sanctuary. This includes structural engineering,
materials for construction, finishes and design of sub-systems like
HVAC. We will be working closely with our general contractor to keep
costs within
budget and yet develop a structure we can be proud of. Site
engineering is mostly done and we next will contact the town to review
and
approve our plan. We also notified "neighbors" about the new
construction and invited them to a presentation.
August 2009
We have reached an agreement for the
site engineering with Dana
Perkins Civil Engineering. The next step after the engineering is
done is to obtain approvals from the Town of Andover for the site.
July 2009
The BOF Committee is moving forward
to create detailed design documents for the site and the phase one
construction. Fund raising is also a major effort. Over half of the
congregation has pledged or given funds already but we need to reach
those that have been waiting for a final design concept.
June
2009
The Phase One Plan was approved by
the Congregation at a special meeting. Construction can begin
when sufficient funds have been collected or pledged. The Congregation
also approved a mortgage to help pay for the construction. Now the BOF
committee is focusing its efforts on additional fund raising.
May 2009
The
Phase
One Plan was reviewed by a contractor and cost estimates for
construction were within our proposed budget. Elevation views of the
plan were made and the committee has asked the church council to call a
Congregational Meeting (June 7th) to approve construction.
April 2009
The overall cost is still too high. The architect has proposed some
cost cutting changes to the design for Phase One. The sanctuary was
pushed back on the site to gain space and construction simplification,
moved the mechanical room and simplified some other details. The next
step is to get a cost estimate for construction.
March 2009
Costs
of
the
new
phase
one
effort
are
being
itemized.
This
includes furnishings
such as chairs, audio/visual needs, praise band needs and Christian Ed
needs. A meeting with a representative of the ELCA Mission Investment
Fund to discuss loan possibilities was held also.
February 2009
A
schematic of the new phase one "stand alone" sanctuary was presented to
the BOF committee this month. "Stand Alone" means no tearing down or
modifications will be made to the existing building. Only a vestibule
will connect the new sanctuary with the existing building. See these
phase one outside
views under "Views of New Building".
January 2009
The
plans
of the BOF committee were presented at the annual Congregation Meeting
and interest in the project remains high in spite of the weak economy.
To help close the gap between our resources and construction costs, the
architect has proposed a new phase one plan that saves several hundreds
of thousands of dollars. The details of that design are now being
developed and views of it will be posted on the web next month.
December 2008
With
the
Advent and Christmas events at church, progress has slowed down. There
are no new milestones to report.
November 2008
The BOF committee is meeting to work
on replies to the concerns raised by the congregation after the
presentations in October. An additional concern now is the weak
economy. While it is a great time to build (lower costs), the giving
potential of the church members needs reevaluation. Additional creative
ways to fund the project are needed.
October
2008
The 3-D model and plans for the
expansion were presented to the congregation in several gatherings. The
plans were very well received and good questions were asked. Those
questions of general interest or needing additional homework will be
part of the FAQs section of the web and in printed materials to the
congregation.
September 2008
The
early
site plan (Parking, drainage, roads, walkways, etc.) is complete but
needs to be modified to meet our needs and budget. The BOF committee
met with the Town of Andover officials and boards this month to
"informally" present our plans. There was good discussion and
suggestions made which we will make part of our formal proposal when we
apply for permitting. The 3-D model of the new building is now
available to view in the narthex of the church
August 2008
The
schematic plan (concept) is more detailed now. The wetlands have
been defined by the civil engineer and a plan to handle storm water
runoff is in the early design stage. A Three dimensional model of the
new building plan, as developed so far, has been donated by Faith
member, Craig Carlson's company, InDepth
Design. Construction of this model is underway and will be
available in September.
July 2008
Great
progress
has
been
made!
We
now
have
a
plan
with the sanctuary in the
back of the property to avoid front setback issues and moved south to
avoid the wetland
setback concerns. We also have hired a civil engineer to work on the
site plan, drainage and other issues. The new sanctuary will have
an entrance south of the existing entrance. Check out early views of
the footprint here.
June 2008
Various
options
have
been
explored
for
the
placement
of
the
Sanctuary both for
"traffic flow", visual impact and meeting town concerns. The plan to
place the sanctuary out front requires town approval (variance) since
it violates the front setback distance, the plan to place the sanctuary
in the back violates the wetlands setback distance. Other placement
options are being considered.
May 2008
The architects (Maugel, Architects http://www.maugel.com/
) are in the
schematic design phase. This means that they are designing the new
spaces, reusing existing spaces and solving problems with location of
important functions. They along with the"Building on Faith" or BOF
committee need to secure
Town of Andover approval for the new design. The total cost for
the project is only partially defined and
there are some decisions that need to be made such as how close can we
build to property lines and to the wetlands in the back of the
property. Fund raising is continuing and the more we can raise the
better off we are both in making these choices as well as reducing any
need to take out a mortgage.
