Groundbreaking Ceremony on May 17th.
The church has been investigating an expansion in some form since 2008. This latest effort has been ongoing since 2016. Thousands of volunteer hours from previous building teams, board members, fundraisers, group facilitators, and more have gone into this project. We are finally about to see the fruits of our labors: a beautiful new sanctuary that will serve our needs for years to come. Please join us in celebrating this event – you can even take your picture in a hard hat! The groundbreaking celebration will be 5:30 to 6:30 PM on Tuesday, May 17th, with a brief ceremony at 5:45 followed by light refreshments.
We feel we are ready to have our groundbreaking, but that doesn’t mean you’ll see construction equipment on the grounds just yet. We have two preconstruction tasks yet to be completed: moving the gas line that serves the RE building and installing a new electric transformer. The gas line work is handled by Xcel Energy and the electric work by the City of Fort Collins. We have submitted a permit application for the gas line work but still don’t have a timeline. We expect you will see this work begin in the next few weeks.
We are still waiting for a building permit, but progress is being made. The architects feel that the building permit is no longer the critical path. A separate permit application has been submitted to the Poudre Valley Fire Authority. We have had several discussions about fire engine access, water availability, and sprinklers during the development process and don’t expect problems with this application.
Pinkard Construction Co., our contractor, has hired subcontractors, begun to order materials, and is working on scheduling and logistics. Every effort is being made to avoid disrupting church functions. The lower parking lot will be used for construction staging. It will be fenced off and secure. Once our part of construction begins, we’ll set up regular tours for you to see what’s happening and watch the progress.
It is so exciting to have the start of the project in view. Thank- you to all the volunteers, donors, and cheerleaders who have helped along the way.
In partnership and with excitement,
The Building Expansion Team
Chris Bettlach, Jerry Hanley, Peg MacMorris, and Margaret Cottam