Rising Up

Here’s what’s happening on our building project since the devastating fire of November 6, 2017, which destroyed our 190-year-old brick church beyond reasonable repair.

Tasks Completed Since the Fire

  • Assessed the building and stabilized it—November 2017
  • Secured the steeple, roof, and building for the winter—December 2017
  • Restored power to the Parlors building—March 2018
  • Four architectural firms, code officers, and engineers made recommendations on the feasibility of restoring or rebuilding—Winter 2017-2018
  • Hired an architect, Ann Vivian of GVV Architects—April 2018
  • Congregation voted to demolish the church structure and build new—May 6, 2018
  • Design event session held with architect Ann Vivian—May 6, 2018
  • Service of Decommissioning the old structure held—May 27, 2018
  • Prepared for demolition: Asbestos abated, fuel tanks emptied and removed, furnishings removed—Summer 2018
  • Survey completed—July 2018
  • Hired a construction manager (CM), Timothy Schroder, Enginuity Engineering—August 2018
  • Secured insurance for the building project—November 2018
  • Demolished the building—December 2018
  • Congregational approval of design for the new facility—January 6, 2019
  • General contractor bids received, reviewed and awarded to EMCO—April 2019
  • Work commenced—May 2019
  • Foundation completed—June 2019
  • Building exterior completed; feature window installed—October 2019
  • Building interior completed; office cabinets and shelving installed; door handles crafted from old pew wood by Brian Clark installed—November 2019
  • Insurance settlement finalized and received—November 6, 2019
  • Belfry and old marble moved to space adjacent to Parlors building—December 2019
  • Certificate of Occupancy acquired—December 2019

To Be Done

  • Furnish the building.
  • Landscape (scheduled for spring).
  • Finalize a building-use policy.
  • Consider how to use the belfry in a memorial display.