St. Paul's Episcopal Church Construction Project

Jump to: 2008 Updates  |  December 2007 Update  |  November Update  |  October Update
             Project Overview

Rendering of the proposed new entrance to the church
 

December 2007 Update

Jump to: 2008 Updates  |  December 2007 Update  |  November Update  |  October Update
             Project Overview

November 2007 Update

		View from K Street, looking south
		Site of the new Atrium
		Connecting to the water main on K Street
		The door opening into the new Choir Room, in Gray House
		The future Choir Room
		A steel beam supports the new choir room ceiling
		Carwithen House with windows removed
		The back of Carwithen House (looking north from parking lot)

October 2007 Update

Our building project is well underway, with dramatic demolition taking place in Carwithen House and Gray House. More than one parishioner has remarked, on seeing the skeletal remains of the townhouses, that angels must be working overtime to hold up those walls

As workers strip the townhouses down to the walls, we can begin to imagine the activities that will take place in them: Gray House, which will offer a new rehearsal space for our choirs, and the meeting rooms and reception areas of Carwithen House, which will also provide functional spaces for clergy and staff.

The sidewalk in front of the church and the townhouses has been temporarily blockaded to facilitate demolition and construction. We thank our neighbors for their patience and understanding with this temporary inconvenience, and hope they will look forward, with us, to the new facilities we will be able to share with the community in the near future.

Fr. Alan Gyle was our guest at the October 7 kickoff of our Foundation for the Future Campaign, and spoke movingly about the bonds between our parish and his, St. Paul's, Knightsbridge, London. He also presented a magnificent gift to the Campaign, and reminded us of the value of a long-term vision for how God can work in and from our physical spaces--not only now, but for decades, and even centuries, to come.

Project Overview

(from The Epistle, July 2007)

Parish Set To Renovate, Expand Facilities
By Ann Korky

At the May 19 annual meeting, then wardens Linda Wilkinson and David Schnorrenberg presented a comprehensive report on the status of the parish’s building project.

Project History

In 2000, St. Paul’s undertook a capital campaign, the Millennium Fund. Phase I goals included the retirement of existing debt and renovation of the guild room, the classroom space on the lower level of Pillsbury House, and the nursery area on the first floor. Phase I also called for the construction of a handicapped restroom facility and a new east entrance with a handicapped ramp and elevator to the upper levels of Pillsbury House. Phase II intended to renovate the Parish-owned townhouses at 2444 and 2446 K St. as improved office space. Most Phase I goals are met: the debt retired in 2000, the guild room was renovated in 2001, and the lower level, nursery, and handicapped restroom were completed in 2003. In the meantime, however, several significant developments led to a decision to rethink the remaining elements of the project.

The parish received a major bequest from Velma Gray in 2002—approximately $500,000—with the stipulation the funds be used to benefit the music program. In 2003, the contiguous townhouse property at 2422 K St. came on the market, a property which the Parish had considered buying in the 1970s but decided against because of concern over incurring debt. The 2003 vestry considered the matter carefully and opted to move forward with the purchase, conscious that the opportunity might not come again and that 2422 represented the only realistic option for expanding the space available to the parish. The purchase of 2422 led to a fundamental reconsideration of the project at the same time that differences with the original architect prompted the decision to turn to a new firm to design an integrated plan for all three townhouse spaces. The plans would provide music rehearsal and office space as well as new, welcoming handicapped accessible entrances at the front and rear of the building. The plans for a significantly larger and more complex new project were facilitated by the generous bequest of Bill Carwithen, who in 2004 left over $1 million to St. Paul’s.

The initial permit was submitted to the District of Columbia in January 2005 to take advantage of the more favorable zoning regulations then in effect, even as a “value engineering” review was conducted to try to reduce the anticipated cost. In 2006, the permitting process was fully underway and the architect completed revised drawings which were then put out for competitive bidding.

Also in 2006, the vestry decided to retain an owner’s representative, Realco, to oversee final permitting, bidding, contract negotiation and actual construction. That—and a change in the representative used to shepherd permits through City Hall—have provided essential support to the vestry’s own efforts.

What’s Next

Bids were received from three qualified contractors in early 2007 and, after an exhaustive analysis by Realco and careful review by the building improvements and finance committees, the vestry voted to select Coakley Williams—the low bidder—to carry out a project which encompasses the remaining goals of the Millennium Fund, both Phases I and II, but on a significantly larger scale. The result will be an integrated physical plant that provides:

• Office, meeting, and building maintenance and utility space on four levels in 2422;
• Choir rehearsal, vesting, and office space on two levels in a unified area spanning 2444 and 2446;
• Fellowship and formation space in Pillsbury House;
• A new narthex and glass-roofed atrium uniting the area between 2446, Pillsbury House and the church building itself.

That new entry is reminiscent of the plans originally drawn when the church building was designed in the 1940s by Philip Hubert Frohman, the principal architect of Washington National Cathedral. Two elevators will assure access to all levels of the integrated structure, including the dining room on the upper floor of Pillsbury House. There will also be handicapped parking and ramp access from the rear of the building.

With construction to begin in June 2007—when the final two city permits are received—the projected completion date is June 2008. While the delays in construction and disputes with the architects have been a source of frustration and expense, that completion date is well within the timeline set by the parish’s long-range plan. Adopted in 2001, it called for the completion of the building program by 2010.

Funding

Of the $1,843,720 raised during the Millennium Fund campaign, $1,394,786 has been spent:

• $374,279 for the current architect;
• $262,000 for the lower-level renovation of Pillsbury House;
• $209,322 for debt retirement;
• $159,732 for the former architect;
• $153,144 for permit, regulatory and other costs;
• $89,228 for guild room renovation;
• $81,347 for the capital campaign;
• $65,734 for administrative costs, including Realco.

Of the original funds, $448,934 remains. The estimated cost of the current project is approximately $5.8 million, to include the building contract itself at $4,621,162, a contingency fund of over $500,000, permits and regulatory costs of over $300,000 and additional architect and administrative fees. The cost will be covered initially by a construction loan from United Bank of up to $3,000,000. Upon completion of construction, United Bank will make a permanent loan available of up to $3.5 million to pay off the construction loan and cover the remaining mortgage balance on 2422 K St. The estimated annual loan payment is $240,000.

In addition to the funds remaining from the Millennium Fund, the parish has received $1,632,482 in bequests, $1,258,000 from the 25th St. property sales and $119,532 in interest, less expenses. This makes for a total of cash on hand for the building project of $3,458,948. Thus, the Vestry anticipates that the actual value of the construction loan needed will be less than $2.4 million.

In making its decision to proceed with the project, the Vestry identified three potential funding sources for paying off this debt: additional bequests, use of a portion of the annual operating budget, and additional capital campaigning. The strength of the parish’s financial base is demonstrated by the fact that the numbers of pledge units and the average annual pledge have shown steady growth over the past three years, with a resulting rise in the operating budget from $726,000 in 2005, to $785,000 in 2006 to $894,000 in 2007. Expenses have also been controlled, with a resulting surplus in 2006 of $100,000.

When the vestry voted to proceed with the building project, it also decided to undertake a new capital campaign simultaneous with the annual stewardship campaign that begins each year at the Feast of the Dedication in October. Several vestry members spoke about the considerations each had weighed in voting to go forward. These ranged from the conviction that God was calling us as a community to move forward in building His kingdom on earth to the belief that we needed to keep faith with those who preceded us at St. Paul’s and to provide for the generations to come. Fr. Sloane noted the importance of matching deeds to words, to make the parish facilities match the reality of what goes on inside them and to offer a welcoming face to those who might join in our worship, mission and ministries.

All noted the challenge and risks inherent in the project, but felt we had a unique opportunity that we dare not ignore. One newly elected member of the vestry offered his own endorsement of the decision, promising a $10,000 contribution which was gratefully received on May 21.