PCC: Building Update

The closer we get to moving into our building, the more excited I get about the potential of this tool for reaching people. We have invested much to get here, but there is much to be gained for the Kingdom.

There are literally thousands of hours going into this now and we're giving it all that we've got. We are pushing as hard as we can for the first Sunday in March, but the weather is creating some uncertainty about that. Specifically, we know there are going to be some challenges installing the septic system. We're waiting for the Department of Environmental Quality to approve the permit and then the contractor can begin installation.

I wanted you to have a list of things that we will have in our building, and an idea of some things that we will not have - at least not on the day we move in.

First, the things we WILL have on day 1:

Completely safe and county approved facility.
State of the art sound and lighting system in the auditorium.
An operating bookstore.
Comfortable, padded chairs (with arms and without arms).
Finished Atrium, with lighting designed to be very welcoming.
Finished, tile flooring in the Atrium, primary hallway, bathrooms, and much of the children's floor.
All painting will be complete.
Student house will be onsite.
Ceiling tiles in all public hallways, atrium, and in the foyer to the children's floor and the hallways on that floor.
All interior doors will be stained and sealed.
Paved entrance, with adequate gravel parking lot.

Here are some things we will not have on day 1. Weather is the reason for some of these, funding is the reason for others:

The Auditorium and most of the rooms adjacent to the hallways will not have finished floors. We own all of the tile, so cost is not the issue here. Volunteers have worked extremely hard to get all of the flooring done, but we may run out of time. It's ok. Whatever we don't have finished on our 'move in' day, we'll complete in the days and weeks following.
Many of the rooms adjacent to the main hallway and in the children's wing may not have ceiling tiles.
The portico will not be on the building. We own it and we have it. However, weather delays have kept us from getting it done. In order to get a certificate of occupancy from Powhatan, it must either be completely finished or not started. We chose the latter rather than taking the chance that we'd get stuck because of weather (and this was likely).
Most of the parking lot will not be paved.
There won't be any finished concrete sidewalks. However, we will have packed, rolled, crush-n-run entrance areas and possibly poured concrete aprons.

There are other things that we'll begin working on the DAY we move into the building. We know it's a priority to finish things like the kitchen, landscaping, ceiling tiles, flooring, paving, curtains, building the playground, getting the widescreen tv’s….I could go on and on with the list.

We will develop a capital budget soon after we move in that will ensure that we are steadily making improvements in an order that makes sense and in the most cost effective way possible. Slowly, week by week, you'll see our facility improve.

You can help

You can give time before we move in. We need as many people as possible right now to paint, tile, assemble, sweep, etc. There is plenty to do for the skilled and for the not-so-skilled. Call Dennis Green at 804-400-9820 or Chris Ashman at 432-8917 if you want to know more. But someone is usually on the jobsite 6 days a week now. You don’t have to call. You can just come.
You can give time after we move in. As you now know, there will be plenty left to do even after our building opens. If you want to help, we can use you.
Make a special gift. As I mentioned, funding has been a challenge. We weren’t able to do some of what was needed simply because there wasn’t enough money. Your gift can help make it happen.
You can make a commitment to the Reach Campaign. Moving in is going to be so great. But the day after we move in, we start paying the mortgage. I have always hoped we would pay it off in five to seven years. If we all step up and make a regular, monthly commitment to the Reach Campaign, we can reach that goal and get the debt behind us.

More information will come in the next few days, probably in several posts, so keep an eye on this blog. I thought I’d close with some pictures. Thanks for your support and for your ongoing prayer for us and for the completion of this facility.