Narthex Project
Addition pledges for the Narthex Core Project can be made by printing your new pledge form HERE, fill it in and return it to the Church Office addressed to the Treasurer (Steven Carlson). Thank you AGAIN!
* Narthex Renovation Update—see June 19, 2022 Congregation Meeting with the decisions outcome Information HERE … *
… And read below for the Final happenings—Construction begAn September 5, 2023 !!! *
* * * * * * * *
Narthex Ribbon Cutting!!!
With our brand-new occupancy permit, the new hallway is open! Last Sunday, we held the ribbon-cutting for the Narthex addition. After we sang the Doxology, Pastor Albert prayed for God’s blessing on us and our use of the new facilities. It felt great to linger a bit after the service and celebrate together with sparkling cider, donuts, and coffee! Those who were headed off to Sunday School were able to take the new direct indoor route through the new hallway into the back hallway to the Education Wing. We have a presentation on loop in the Narthex big screen monitor, showing the progression of the construction from the initial demolition through the finishing touches.
The Narthex has a new handicapped-accessible power door. One of the last items installed in our renovation was a new power door to the Narthex. It has a big square button on the inside and outside to activate the automatic opening feature, and it has power assist if you start to open the door manually. If you have a building key, it will not work yet in that door. Soon we will have a locksmith re-key the cylinder to match our other keys. The original glass was cracked during installation, but that has been replaced this week.
The courtyard is open for business. Although it was too cold and windy outside to go walk through the courtyard, we look forward to using it when the weather warms up, and we will be looking forward to a nice warm day to offer some refreshments outside. Members are welcome to go out the new door directly across from the kitchenette to go into the courtyard. The kitchenette door is the only courtyard entrance that is completely flat and accessible for those in wheelchairs Inside of the courtyard, there are "panic bars" on both the kitchenette door and the new door to the back hallway, so you cannot get trapped out there.
We are not going to get rid of the big ceremonial scissors—we are saving them to use again later this year for the renovation of the Sacristy!
⬅️ AT LEFT … Carl Bauersfeld and Erik Long assist
AT RIGHT… ➡️ Celebrating the completed project
Reminder: Have you completed your Narthex Renovation pledge?
Thank you to everyone who has donated the Narthex Project through your direct contributions and your support of the building fund in our budget. If you have an outstanding pledge for the Narthex Renovation for 2023 or earlier, please plan to fulfill your pledge this year. if you are able to do so, the Treasurer is paying monthly invoices for the project, and we expect that we will be paying most of the project costs this year, with a project final completion early in 2024. Please complete your pledges and communicate with the treasurer if he should adjust his projections for the timing or amount of your pledge.
September 3, 2023 … ~ Carl Bauersfeld, Building Committee Chair
We’ve received our final building permit approvals! After meeting with our general contractor, we are planning the start of the on-site construction for Tuesday, September 5th.
Please note the following changes for access to St. Mark’s parking and buildings during our construction phase for both Sundays and weekdays. Here are the current highlights:
Construction starts on September 5th.
The Backlick road church entrance will be blocked except weekends.
During the work week everyone will need to use Craig or Brunswick streets to come to Saint Mark’s
The first week of construction the window in the narthex where the seating alcove is will be removed.
The glass wall to the courtyard will be removed
Temporary walls will be erected across the narthex.
Scaffolding will be erected under the narthex floor to move machinery in and out of the courtyard.
The scaffolding will block the bottom of the stairwell between the narthex and the hall on the lower level.
The scaffolding will also block the lower level hall and two mechanical / electrical closets.
The narthex side door will be open for entry, but the narthex access to the sanctuary will be blocked weekdays.
There will be access from the side door to the sanctuary on the weekends.
The elevator will be accessible through the side narthex door.
The hall from the elevator to the Fellowship hall will be blocked
The elevator will be able to access the narthex, office, and lounge.
Additional information:
Fellowship Hall Access. The preferred route from the Narthex to the Fellowship Hall will be down the stairway that leads through the Lounge. The stairwell from the Sanctuary (near the Sacristy) down to the Fellowship Hall will also be open. Those with mobility limitations who need to access the Fellowship Hall should use the lower level exterior Fellowship Hall entrance.
Narthex Stairway. The Narthex stairway down to the basement will be closed during construction. The stairway through the Lounge will remain open.
Elevator Access. Elevator users will be able to enter the elevator in the Narthex, but for access to the Lounge or Office levels only. It will not be possible to transit from the elevator in the basement or the nearby stairwell through to the Fellowship Hall.
Office Access. The Office will be accessible by stairs or the elevator.
Sanctuary Access. The contractor will construct plastic walls between the narthex seating area and the courtyard.
Weekdays: During the week there will be no access through the Narthex to the Sanctuary. Access to the Sanctuary will be via the door on the left side or the stairwell on the right side of the Sanctuary.
Weekends: Over the weekends there will be a path through the construction area in the Narthex. Wheelchair access will be through this path or through the hallway from the Education Wing.
Vehicle Access. The contractor needs to block off the driveway from Backlick Road.
Weekdays: To access the church during the work week, use Craig or Brunswick Streets.
Weekends: The Backlick Road entrance will be available on the weekends
Education Wing Access. At some point in the project, there will be some limitations at the Education Wing entrance while the handicapped parking spaces are constructed. We will advise members and the Montessori School as soon as we know when this may take place.
Why do we have these limitations? To work in the Courtyard, we need to use some very heavy machinery. To move the machinery in and out through the Narthex without damaging the building requires bracing the floor from below. The work will start with placing the supports in the stairwell from the Narthex to the lower level, and the basement hallway that leads to the fellowship hall. The contractor will remove the large window that is in the narthex seating area and the glass wall between the narthex and the courtyard. The path between these two areas will be the floor that needs to be supported. Access to the Fellowship Hall in the basement level from the elevator will be blocked by the supports used to hold up the narthex floor. You could ride the elevator to the basement and step into the hall, but the supports would stop you from going much further.
What can we expect?
Early in the project, we will be reinforcing the Narthex floor from below to prepare for construction equipment. This is going to create some temporary limitations in how we get from the Narthex level down to the Fellowship Hall, and the construction zone will have some Narthex limitations during the week.
As a Congregation, after evaluating the bids received for the Narthex Project, we determined the best path forward was to reduce costs by paring down the project to essential elements—which we will call the Redesigned Narthex Project. Click HERE for a summary of changes to the project.
If you have questions about the redesigned project, please take a look at the plan designs displayed on the Narthex bulletin board. Questions can be directed to info@stmarks-elca.org. Thank you!
Here are the three documents arising from previous meetings:
Narthex Core Project Fundraising Letter
Narthex Core Project Pledge Form
Narthex Core Project Design Notes
An additional page of “INFORMATION ON FINANCING THE CORE NARTHEX PROJECT“ can be found [HERE].
We have known for years that St. Mark’s needed convenient bathrooms on the sanctuary/narthex level and that these bathrooms needed to meet American Disabilities Act specifications as well as the needs of families with young children.
To these ends and with careful consideration, a team of dedicated members engaged the Helbing Lipp Recny Architects firm to help us meet our goals.
* * * * * * * *
Narthex Renovation Survey Results …
We have compiled the Narthex Survey results and would like to report back to the Congregation how you responded. Forty-two members responded to the survey. There is a wide range of opinions, but there are some trends worth noting.
Some key takeaways from the survey:
ADA bathrooms are the top priority, by far.
Support for the cost of the renovation drops off sharply as the cost rises.
There is support for waiting one year, but very little support for waiting two years.
The priorities for various parts of the project indicate that we may have some flexibility in how to complete the project to satisfy our most important needs if building costs don't come down as much or as fast as we want.
The survey results are HERE.
We will share these survey results with our architect as we explore our options moving ahead. Any alternate approaches to the project schedule or scope will be brought forward to the congregation for engagement, feedback, and ultimately, votes in congregation meetings.
It is encouraging to see that some economic indicators are moving in the right direction. Wholesale costs of lumber are returning to normal levels. Construction cost price index information for July showed that the rapid rise in construction costs stopped; now we will watch for those costs to come back down.
SEE MORE CONCEPT PARTS HERE!!!
Read the Fundamental Conclusions reached during this process of as well as additional suggested drawings of the courtyard plan and renderings plus a suggested drawing of the interior drawings of the new nursery and back of the sanctuary below—click on the images to view the drawings full-screen:
Click the Fundamental Conclusions document for Courtyard, Sanctuary, and Architect’s General Findings.
Concept of Courtyard Plan
Concept of Courtyard Renderings
Concept of Concept #3 Interior Renderings of the new Nursery and back of the Sanctuary
