The minimum option...

"What would be the minimum investment necessary to allow the entire CENTER to be occupied and used?"


This question was raised this past weekend, and it is a good question.

As described earlier in the CENTER blog, and in the CENTER completion fact sheet, the Building Implementation Committee (BIC) has described the following options if Autumn Ridge decided that is was wise to move forward toward finishing the CENTER now:

Option 1. Prepare education wing structure now: $90,000

Option 2. Prepare service wing structure now: $50,000

Option 3. Complete education wing using commercial contractors: $315,000*

Option 4. Complete education wing using Autumn Ridge volunteers: $150,000*

Option 5. Complete service wing with commercial contractors: $150,000*

Option 6. Complete service wing with Autumn Ridge volunteers: $80,000 *

(*would first need to pay for option 1 and/or option 2.)

The least expensive combination of these options (1+2+4+6) comes to $370,000. This estimate would use a combination of commercial and volunteer labor to bring the CENTER to the planned final configuration with all interior partitions, doors, windows, and finishes.

"But is that really the bare minimum construction needed to occupy the CENTER?"

The answer is no- the congregation could go even lower if this were determined to be wise. BIC is committed to providing the full set of options for consideration during this interval of prayer and discussion.

The minimum price estimate to complete the CENTER for legal occupancy is about $300,000. This amount represents just 11% more than the $2.65M committed to the CENTER in the sharing HOPE initiative.


"What would be the status of the CENTER after investment of an additional $300,000?"

•The multipurpose room would be complete, with sports flooring, basketball goals and volleyball gear.

•New restrooms would be complete.

•The new lobby would be complete with carpet, lighting, painted walls.

•In both levels of the education wing there would be required heating and air conditioning and sealed concrete floors. The main floor education space would consist of one large room with doors.

•There would be no suspended ceiling or carpet. Lights and electrical outlets would meet minimal requirements. The upper level of the education wing would be a large open space without walls, contiguous with the balcony and mezzanine.

•In the service wing there would be sealed concrete floor, three finished changing rooms with showers, and the changing/locker area. The kitchen area and storage room would be partitioned with minimal required lighting and outlets, but no suspended ceiling or floor covering. There would be plumbing, gas and electrical connections in the kitchen are for future completion. There would be no outdoor playground, or audio/visual capability in the multipurpose room.

This $300,000 scenario would allow the congregation to take occupancy of the CENTER, and no further commercial construction would be required. On the other hand, considerable future by-owner investments (~$70K) would be required for materials to further complete the space with volunteer labor. Further investment would be required to provide an exterior playground.

Commercial finish options are listed above, as previously described.

So there it is...what BIC believes to be the true minimum completion option for the CENTER. The $300,000 investment would increase the CENTER investment by 11%.

Let us continue to discuss these options, praying for wisdom and unity.

...a bit of history

It is the spring of 2011 and the Autumn Ridge congregation is studying possibilities for the CENTER at Autumn Ridge, the new addition for recreation, education and service. During February and March we are asking God for wisdom. In May, 2010, the congregation pledged $2.8M toward sharing Hope, an initiative that provided $150,000 for Compassion Evangelical Hospital in Guinea, West Africa, and $2.65M for the CENTER at Autumn Ridge.

What is the history of the CENTER design, and where do we stand now?

The original plan for the Autumn Ridge Church campus on Salem Road called for a multi-purpose room that could serve as a gymnasium some of the time. The original plan called for this space to be shared with what is now the Common Grounds Café! It is hard to imagine that room alternating between basketball and coffee, especially with one wall shared with the worship center.

A second possibility was also considered in 2004 during final design. This would have made the current junior high school room into a multi-purpose room with sports capability. That option was also set aside, as the room took on education and worship functions.

This left indoor recreation for the future. While the 16th Street church facility had provided a gymnasium to use and share, the Salem Road campus lacked this feature.

Just months after taking occupancy of the Salem Road campus in December, 2005, studies began to consider how new recreation and education space could be provided. The vision from the outset was space that could serve the congregation and be shared with the community as a basis for outreach and building relationships. The Salem Road master campus plan called for multiple additions, as necessary, to serve future community, education, worship, and administration functions. The possibility of a recreation/education addition was studied from 2006-2009, when the building implementation committee was re-formed to analyze the possibility, and provide a program of functions, a conceptual design, and estimates. The project began with a needs assessment and evaluation of current facility use patterns at the time.

The recommendation was an addition with multipurpose room for recreation and special events, lobby interaction space, education space, and support functions such as a kitchen and changing rooms. Specifications were set for the number of people to be served in education and lobby, but the size of the multipurpose room was a variable in the design.

As proposed to the congregation in November, 2009, the CENTER at Autumn Ridge was a schematic design including a multipurpose room large enough for two high school basketball courts. The full CENTER design (including two levels of education space) was 36,000 square feet in size, with a cost estimate of $4.7M. This created a fund-raising goal for the construction portion of the sharing Hope initiative.

Pledges were received during the spring on 2010, with a 3-year generous pledge total of $2.65M. The Building Implementation Committee then undertook a study of how to invest $2.65M toward starting the CENTER. The design goal was to complete the entire exterior of the facility, even if the interior was incomplete. This concept was chosen to minimize future expense and construction logistics. In order to stretch $2.65M to complete the entire exterior as well as the multipurpose space and lobby, it was determined that the size of the multipurpose space could be modified slightly. This was reasonable, since the CENTER programmatic functions never had a specific requirement for the size of the multipurpose room. It was determined that a room to accommodate two junior high school basketball courts would be ideal. Space allocations for education, greeting, and support functions did not change.

Architectural design was then completed, bids were received, and the revised CENTER project bids came in $110,000 under the $2.65M target. This, along with a $50K construction contingency budget, provided resources to begin finishing some of the unfinished areas and provide an excellent flooring solution for the multipurpose room.

It is important to note that this combination of circumstances changed the CENTER scenario from the original 36,000 square foot addition with $4.7M completion cost estimate, to a 28,271 square foot addition with a $3.7M completion cost estimate. Reducing the size of the CENTER by 21% lowered the estimated completion cost by $1M.

With excellent pricing, good weather, and good timing, this created an opportunity that was shared with the congregation in 2011: the $2.65M committed to the CENTER now represents between 80% and 87% of the total needed to complete the facility: 80% if commercial construction is used to finish, 87% if a combination of commercial and volunteer labor is used.

This opportunity is important to consider: being within $370K - $606K of the completion cost means that the potential savings (~$100K) to complete work during this construction cycle are very significant. This $100K represents 17-27% of the total completion costs for the CENTER, a significant penalty to pay for waiting additional years for a future fund raising initiative. The $100K savings would result from avoiding removal and re-installation of construction equipment, and by avoiding inflation.

Thus, the congregation faces an opportunity and a decision. Waiting as planned is a reasonable option. Asking if current givers and new givers wish to participate in bridging the gap toward finishing the last 20% of the task is also a reasonable option.

It is time to pray, seeking wisdom and unity in this exciting opportunity. It is also time to share questions and ideas so that the board and congregation can be thoughtful and gracious in this strategic decision.

Jim Maher
Chair, BIC

Welcome to the CENTER blog

Hi Friends!

On behalf of the building implementation committee (BIC) of Autumn Ridge Church, welcome to the CENTER blog. This is intended to be a convenient online site for sharing information and responding to questions. The other major online resource is the CENTER website at:

http://autumnridgechurch.org/center.html

The goal of these online communication tools is to provide the congregation at Autumn Ridge with information needed to decide how best to invest in the CENTER.

The CENTER at Autumn Ridge is the congregation’s phase 2 addition to better serve our guests and the community through multi-purpose recreation, greeting and education space.

The current $2.65M construction phase will complete only the multipurpose room and lobby, leaving the education wing (two levels of classrooms) and the service wing (storage, changing rooms, kitchen) for later. Generous pledges will provide all of the $2.65M over three years, so this building phase will involve no debt.

Estimated costs to completely finish the CENTER are now available, indicating that completion of the entire project is within reach if the congregation chooses to provide additional money, perhaps by extending the three-year sharing Hope initiative into a fourth year. It is important to consider this opportunity because cost savings could exceed $100,000 if construction to complete the CENTER is undertaken now while the contractors are on site.

Considering CENTER Completion Options

The congregation may choose to leave the CENTER unfinished as originally planned.

The following information may be helpful in considering further completion of the CENTER:

Option 1. Prepare education wing structure now: $90,000

Option 2. Prepare service wing structure now: $50,000

Option 3. Complete education wing using commercial contractors: $315,000*

Option 4. Complete education wing using Autumn Ridge volunteers: $150,000*

Option 5. Complete service wing with commercial contractors: $150,000*

Option 6. Complete service wing with Autumn Ridge volunteers: $80,000*

(*would first need to pay for option 1 and/or option 2.)

To put these six options into perspective, the following totals express these costs in terms of the number of added months of giving required if the sharing Hope initiative were extended into a fourth year at the current giving rate:

Prepare all remaining structure now: $140,000 (2 months extra giving)

Commercial completion of project*: $465,000 (7.5 months extra giving)

Volunteer completion of project*: $230,000 (3.7 months extra giving)

(*would first need to pay $140,000 to prepare all remaining structure)

So these are the facts. The congregation is being asked to reflect on these facts and pray for wisdom.

Should we stick with the original plan, invest $2.65M over three years and use the CENTER multi-purpose room and lobby, but leave education and service spaces unfinished? This will require a later construction phase to add heating and air conditioning, pour more concrete floors, and add more infrastructure before church volunteers or professionals could complete the project.

Should we extend the sharing HOPE initiative by asking if some who made 3-year commitments would be willing to extend for some additional months?

Should we provide an opportunity for those not yet involved in sharing HOPE to sign on and help toward completion of the CENTER?

If we as a congregation determine to vote on extending the giving, we then would have an opportunity to pledge toward enhanced giving beyond the original 3-year plan. If such new pledges were made, BIC would then proceed with construction completion using the pledged funds to go as far as possible, again incurring no debt.

What do you think? Please post your thoughts and opinions, questions and concerns. Just reply to this post, and we'll discuss this opportunity together.