This page is so you can keep up with the building progress of the South Decatur Family Life Center. As news comes into us we will post here so that you can keep up with the lastest news on where we are in the process. This way everyone will be able to know what is going on at all times. If you have any question or comments you are free to leave them, and we will post the answer.
23 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
Moving Forward
Yesterday we received the paperwork for our site plan and it was submitted to the City Building Committee for review at the end of July. John Godwin (architect) has already met with the committee members as well as the city building committee and shown them our plans and they have said that they saw no problems in the site other than we would have to get a variance. The committee felt that this would be no problem. We have already begun to see the favor of God in that the city is allowing us to make the site proprosal at the same time that we are getting our variance. This means that we will not lose any time in the process. By getting a variance on both the back part of the property and the side we will be able to build a 60×120 and have the ability to add another 30ft to the end if we so desire. The process of receiving a variance will take about 10 days and should be complete by the end of the month.
Continuing on Moving Forward
Just to let everyone know that we are maxmizing our time. While we have applied for a variance we have also submitted our plans to the City Site Committee, and have given them to the following builders for price quotes: Lindsey Construction, Crews Inc., Four Star Builders, and Fite Construction. Also the architect is working on the plans that we voted on so that everything can come together as quickly as possible. Our goal is to be able to have all this complete by the end of July. So pray.
Monday of this week we submitted our variance application to the city and paid the $50.00 fee that went with that. They looked over the application and said they saw no problem with it and would let us know in eight days. On Thursday the City Building Site committee came to the church and looked over the site. They were impressed with the trees that created a barrior from the houses behind us. They recommended that we leave as many of the oak threes as we could between us that the property behind us. They were impressed that we had discussed our plans with many of our neighbors and they said they saw no problems with placing the building where we planned. These are the lastest developments on our building.
I spoke to John Godwin today and everything is moving as scheduled. He has personally spoken to all the members of the Site Plan Committee and they have all told him there are no problems with the site plan, and we should receive approval by the end of the month. Also we should be receiving the variance on the property lines by the end of the month as well. We have added two more contractors to the list of those bidding, but no new proposals have come in at this time. Remember we will not post any numbers on the site, if you would like to know what they are you can contact me at the office.
Hey everyone,
The building committee had a meeting this morning with the Architect John Godwin. In the meeting we discussed several things about the building and communicated to him what we had discussed in our church meetings. The ideas that we discussed:
1) The look of the outside of the building. Mr. Godwin suggested that we think about placing brick half way up the wall and then doing metal the rest of the way. This way the building would connect and blend with our existing building but look new at the same time. The front drive through and side porch would be brick with some integration of half stones in it. This would give the building a classy look and allow us options when we prepare to build the next phase.
2) We discussed the use of the kitchen area. What appliances will be in the kitchen? Do we need a table or counter in the middle of the kitchen to put prepared food on? How many power outlets do we need in the kitchen area? These are some of the items we need to discuss in the next few days.
3) We discussed the roof pitch of the building. The committee told Mr. Godwin that we want the building to blend with the existing building. The suggesting was made to have the outside walls being 10 ft. which would allow the pitch not to be too high so that it would blend with the other buildings. This would give it a campus feel.
4) We discussed the building of the 30×60 youth room. Mr. Godwin told us that building this section now would save us money in the long run. The cost of building this section on the first phase would be far less then if we came back at a later date and built it. By building this section now we would have a great area for our youth. They would be able to have a commons area and have a sanctuary. I understand that we are working with a budget but this is something we need to consider doing because of the cost savings of doing it at this time. The decision was made to draw this in and see what the extra cost would be from the contractors. If building the youth center is in the plans weather it is now or later it was suggested that we move the storage floor to beside the kitchen and place a hallway down the end that would allow the youth excess without going through the dinning hall. The dinning hall would then be the same size as it was in the 80 x 80 plan we drew.
5) We also decided not to take bids on the project until the plans were drawn. This way we could get a more accurate price. Tomorrow we go before the city zoning board for our variance approval. Sunday night on August 10th we will be discussing all of this as well as other business issues.
Hey everyone,
I wanted to say that yesterday afternoon I went before the Zoning Board of Decatur, and it was not a good experiience. I will just say that they denied our request for a variance. Therefore we have to go back to the drawing board and become creative. We are asking everyone to join us together in prayer and believe that God is going to do something awesome. Remember delay is not denial with God. God’s will is going to be accomplish.
Hey Everyone!
Thanks to the hard work of the Building comittee we have been able to talk with all the members of the Decatur Zoning Board. In doing so we have found out some of the issues that they had and will be able to correct them and reapply for the variance we need. The ZB members have all told us to reapply and in doing so that we should have no problems in gaining the OK to build. We have to remember that building something like this is not easy, and there are times when we are tried. We are going to work hard in the next few weeks to make sure everything is done so that we can get the OK. So be praying .
Hey Everyone,
Just wantd everyone to know that the Zoning Board approved our variance. The vote was five for five. Now that we have gotten the vote we can move forward in the building process. Our architect will now proceed with the drawings. This is a great step forward for us and before long we will be seeing dirt moving and steel being put up. Praise the Lord.
Hey Everbody,
The building committee had a meeting with John Godwin (arch) on Thursday. He has completed his part of the plans and they look really good. There are afew things that we have to discuss and we have to come together on. We are going to try and get together on Sunday Night and have a Speical Called Building Meeting. In this meeting we will discuss the details of the building and make sure that everyone is on the same page. We will also share the next step with everyone so that we know where we go from here. I will give you more information about this Sunday Morning. Things are moving.
Hey Everyone,
For you that may have missed it we had a meeting on the new building, and the plans that have been given to us by Godwin/Barnett. The meeting was a great success and we agree to move forward in the process on all accounts. The ladies added a few things in the kitchen but for the most part everything was accepted, so we are moving forward.
Hey everyone! Just got off the phone with John Godwin and he is having his final meeting with the engineers Thursday. He is hoping to have the plans completed by next week and in the hands of contractors. We are coming to a conclusion in this process of the plan and ready to move to the next phase. I know it has been a lengthy process but through it all God has blessed us.
Hey South Decatur!
I spoke to John Godwin Monday and the engineers are putting the final touches on the plans. He had to come and get an inventory of all the things that are going in the kitchen. We are now looking at sending the plans to contractors next week.
Hey everyone!
Just wanted to let everyone know that the architect is finished, and we have submitted the plan to two contractors and will have them sent to two more by the end of the week. I know this has been a long process, but things are beginning to move now and it will not be long before you will begin to see the results of all our hard work and planning. So get ready, something is about to happen.
Hey Everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that we are well into the bidding process. We have submitted the plans to five different builders are we are hoping to hear something from them within the next couple of weeks. Now I know everyone is eager to hear what is going on but remember the holidays will get in the way. We hope to have all the information ready for you by our next Building meeting. God is moving and it is awesome.
Hey South Decatur,
Just wanted to let everyone know that we have been getting bids in and we are working on them. We will be taking the two lowest bids and meet with those contractors and do a cost analysis to make sure that all the fat is cut out of the building. Once the building committee has done this they will bring it to the church and let you know what the cost of the building is going to be. We are getting close.
Hey South Decatur,
We voted 100% to build…AWESOME. Be praying as this week we have meeting with the lowest bidder to see what his plans entail. As we move forward the Building committee is going to do all that they can to make sure that we get all the money on the table for this project. So keep praying.
Hey South Decatur,
Wow! It has been a great week. I just wanted to let everyone know that the State Office has signed off on us building our new Family Life Center, and the bank is suppose to be here Friday to finish up the paper work. God is moving and we are moving forward. So keep up the great work and let continue to see what God will do here at South Decatur.
Hey South Decatur,
I just wanted to let everyone know that we are go to build. The bank has ok our loan and hopefully in the next few weeks we will complete the loan transaction. Our next step is getting the builder out here and to start moving dirt around. Praise the Lord this is actually getting done.
Hey Everyone,
It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything but that doesn’t mean that we have not be working hard to get this deal done. We are in the process of securing the loan from the bank and hopfully it will be finished by the end of this week. I am praying with all of my heart that Sunday Morning we will have a ground breaking service, and the following week construction will begin. So keep praying because with the help of God we are going to make this vision come to past.
Hey Everyone!
Finally we are ready to begin the building process. The bank has come through and the contractor is ready to start the building process. We will be having a ground breaking service on May 17th. Everyone is invited to come and be a part of this histoical day.
Hey everyone,
If you were not at church yesterday then you missed out on the Groundbreaking ceremony. We had a large group participate in the ceremony and had a great time afterward. The construction of our building is in full motion and before long we will enjoy the ministry that is taken place in this new building.
Hey everyone!
As of yesterday the foundation is completly finished, and the steel frame is half way complete. The foundation has been a long process because of the wall that had to be built to hold the slab. All the plumbing has been run. We hope to have the building dried in within the next few weeks.
Ok we are just days away from being in our New 10,000 square feet Life Center. This has been an amazing journey and it is almost to the next stage. We will be having a dedication service on January 3rd during the morning worship service and would like to invite everyone to come and join with us during this celebration. God is moving at South Decatur.