Capital Campaign

In 2017, we raised more than $4.5 million in our Capital Campaign, Not for Ourselves Alone: Building an Inclusive Future, for renovations that will improve our church’s accessibility, hospitality, welcoming presence, and education & meeting spaces, allow us to address deferred maintenance, and improve the worship experience through enhancements to the sanctuary. Details about the capital campaign and congregational input process can be found here.

October 2021 Update

Phase 2 renovations are close to being complete! In late September, we re-opened the building to limited in-person gatherings, including memorial services and Religious Education classes for grades 7–12, while final work on the building is being completed.

The religious education wing is buzzing with activity during the week. Grace Neighborhood Nursery School (our new tenant) is here, and enthusiastic voices fill the classrooms, hallways, and playground. It is a joy to have them with us. Staff are working in the office more and more, and we are gratefully adjusting to moving out of our home work spaces and into being together. On Sundays, our older youth are in the building learning and creating community together. Family members are joining us in the sanctuary and the social hall for worship, and before and after the service I’m watching families connect for walks in the neighborhood.

Our sanctuary and social hall are almost complete. The accessible chancel and hearing assistance loop are in place, new electrical wiring and heating and cooling controls have been installed, and fresh paint, carpet, and lighting throughout create a beautiful and welcoming ambiance. The re-opened stairs into the social hall and the recovered and refinished original terrazzo floors throughout the building are stunning.

Outside, work on our main entrance is underway. The accessible ramp is complete, retaining walls and plantings are going in, the main glass door is being replaced, and the final touches of beauty and functionality and security are all going in over the next two weeks.

While most pieces of our capital project are complete and are allowing us to thrive, other pieces of the project still remain to be finished and are not so beautiful in the transition.

For instance,

• A much-needed new roof is being put on our sanctuary, which means the stairway into the front of the sanctuary is off limits.
• As the new main entrance doors and the atrium are being finished, our central entrance on Dupont Avenue, as well as the front stairs, are unable to be used. Entry into the building will be through the parking lot doors and the 34th Street accessible entrance for the next week.
• Due to supply chain challenges, our long-awaited new speakers, cameras, and projectors for the sanctuary won’t be installed for a few more months, and after some quick-thinking and serious skill, our tech team has created and tested a successful interim solution for online worship.
• We’ll be installing our new, universally accessible playground in the spring, so even as we wrap up construction this fall, a few items in our project will be continued when Minnesota weather is more reliable.

While so many things are beautiful and flourishing in this physical garden of ours, other things are in that sometimes unwieldy phase of growth and change. Together, we’re here for it all: the obviously and easily beautiful, the unwieldy and uncomfortable experiences of change and transition, the joy of our collective strength, and the care of our community.

January 2021 Update

The Phase 2 Remodeling Update Meeting on Sunday, Jan. 17 included a discussion with Co-Senior Minister Rev. Jen Crow, Board President Bryana French, Treasurer Keven Ambrus, Owner’s Representative Chelsea Waters, and architects Stacee Demmer and Erin Grammas about the timing, design, finances, and leaders responsible for Phase 2 of our building renovations. The team also welcomed community input and feedback and answered attendee questions. You can watch the recording of the meeting below.

We are currently in the initial planning and design phase for Phase 2 of renovations, and we anticipate work happening May through September 2021. Phase 2 will include renovation of the Sanctuary, Social Hall, and Atrium, as well as repairs of the exterior of the building and new sloped sidewalks for greater accessibility. Our focus will be on increasing inclusion and improving accessibility, enhancing beauty and a greater sense of welcoming, addressing needed repairs, upgrading our live streaming capabilities and our air-handling systems, and reducing our environmental impact.

We remain committed to creating a space that represents our values and our wide welcome to all, and we trust that in this time of national upheaval, this faith community is an excellent investment. Together we will continue to build an actively anti-racist, multi-cultural congregation that heals hearts and transforms the world.

December 2020 Update

We are delighted to share that Phase 1 of our renovations, focused on the Education and Admin wing, was completed in November 2020!

In early December, we announced that the Board of Trustees has approved moving ahead with Phase 2 of our building renovation project. With the start of Phase 2, we will first enter into a second planning process, with the goal of starting construction in April or May of 2021.

Read more details about what’s been completed in Phase 1, and what’s to come in Phase 2, in our Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 newsletters.

Watch a video tour of the completed Phase 1 renovations with Rev. Jen Crow here:

August 2020 Update

Last time we shared an update on the building renovations, in the July 9 Liberal, construction had been underway for just about five or six weeks. The first month was spent mostly on demolition and abatement throughout the entire education wing, and by early July, layout and framing had just begun on the second floor.

Now, one month later, framing and electrical, plumbing, and HVAC rough ins on both first and second floors are almost complete, which will allow walls to start to being covered up next week. The fire alarm, security, and low voltage wiring for high speed internet in each classroom and the offices should be complete by the end of this week. Door frames were delivered yesterday and should go in soon, and work on the roof has begun.

As with most renovation projects, our crews made some surprise discoveries! There were some degraded walls found below grade, which require excavation and waterproofing, and we also encountered some structural elements of the building that were not on the original building plans, which delayed some of the work on the first floor just a bit.

That said, a lot has been accomplished since our last update, and we are now just past the halfway point of the project, with completion scheduled for October.

July 2020 Update

Renovations on the education wing side of the building are now well underway! Construction crews began work in early June, and spent about the first month on demolition and abatement. A number of walls between the rooms on both first and second floors have been removed, as well as existing restrooms, flooring, ceiling tiles, lighting, and electrical.

During this first full week of July, layout and framing has begun on the second floor, and plumbing and electrical work is ongoing. There is additional abatement to be done on the first floor, scheduled for this coming week, before contractors can proceed with layout and framing.

We have received grants for the high efficiency HVAC units that will be installed on the roof, and we are pursuing grants for new LED lighting throughout the wing.

There will be opportunities for volunteers to help with finishes – especially painting – when we get to that point later this summer. Phase 1 of the project (work on the eduction wing) is scheduled to be completed this fall.

April 2020 Update

On April 23, Rev. Jen Crow announced that a decision has been made on the direction of Phase 1 of our upcoming building renovations. Details are available here.

A congregational meeting was held on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. via Zoom to share drawings and information and answer questions. View the recording below.

March 2020 Update

We held two online Congregational Meetings via Zoom on Thursday, March 26 and Sunday, March 29 to share the latest on renovation plans. We expected to have more concrete plans to share at those meetings, but given the developing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in the process of reevaluating how to proceed.

View the recording from the Sunday, March 29 meeting here:

We’ve put together an FAQ that covers some of the more practical aspects of what it will mean to be offsite while our church home undergoes renovations over the summer. We’ll be adding to this document as we have more details to share: Frequently Asked Questions (as of March 4, 2020).

January/February 2020 Update: Development of Renovation Plans

During the months of January and February, our Owner’s Representative (project manager) Chelsea Waters has been working with the architect, general contractor, and staff/building team to identify, develop and price design options during Design Development. All of this work is grounded in work done previously with the architect and the priorities identified during our capital campaign and gathered from the congregation in Focus Groups and Listening Sessions conducted in 2016–2017. Chelsea has been a solid advocate for the church during this process as we seek to accomplish as much as possible—fulfill as much of the vision outlined in the capital campaign as possible—within our budget.

We will have drawings and details to share with the congregation on March 22, and work will happen in late May through early September. Please join us for a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, March 22 at 12:45 p.m. to view plans, learn about the work that will happen this summer, and ask questions.

• We are keeping our focus on fulfilling the original intent of our capital campaign – improving accessibility and hospitality, improving worship and religious education spaces, and securing our financial future.
• We will move out of our building after May 31 and return to a fully remodeled space in time for Water Communion and the start of religious education classes in September.
• We have paid off our mortgage and do not intend to take out a new one.
• We will complete many critical repairs (roofing, electrical, HVAC) and create a central accessible entrance.
• Our sanctuary will be refreshed – including new paint, flooring, lighting, electrical work, audio visual equipment, ceiling repair, the creation of an accessible chancel, and installation of a hearing loop.
• We will be renovating with a focus on environmental and racial justice – making choices in alignment with green building standards that will help reduce the environmental impact of our building and using our vendor policy when hiring contractors and subcontractors.
• For the first time since we became a Sanctuary Congregation more than two years ago, we will have a living space designed to house individuals and families at risk of deportation, and will no longer need to rely on make-shift arrangements in a crowded building.
• There will be work for us to do this summer! As we look at ways to save money and achieve more of our dreams, we will need to put in our time, energy, and resources. There will be opportunities for additional financial gifts to add in hoped-for improvements, and there will be lots of opportunities for congregants to help with packing, cleaning, moving, painting, and even some demolition.

December 2019 Update: General Contractor Hired

In December 2019 we announced that the General Contractor we’ve selected for our building renovation project is Flannery Construction, a woman-owned business that came in with the best price and the best responses to our vendor policy questions about equity and racial justice practices in their business. Flannery Construction has done a considerable amount of work with non-profits, including with Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative. A team of staff and congregants reconvened to work with our owner’s representative, architect, and general contractor to evaluate the options, make choices, and develop plans and a project calendar.

November 2019 Update: Owner’s Representative Hired

In November, we hired an Owner’s Representative—a project manager who works directly for us, advocating for our best interest with our future contractor and our present architect. The Owner’s Representative we hired is Chelsea Waters from Watershed Partners. Chelsea recently brought Bethlehem Lutheran Church through several major building projects and she comes to us highly recommended for her efficiency, wisdom, and eye for cost-savings. It didn’t hurt that Chelsea knows our space already, too, having grown up in our religious education program with first-hand experience of the shag carpet that used to grace our social hall.

Background

2012: Our 2012–17 Strategic Plan identified the need for a future capital campaign.

Spring 2015: Revs. Justin and Jen presented a broad vision for a campaign to the Board of Trustees.

Fall 2015–Spring 2016: Rev. Justin, Rev. Jen, and the Board developed initial campaign plans and selected a Campaign Consultant. A Pre-Design Team of congregants with expertise in architecture, design, and construction worked with staff and congregant groups to further identify needs, possible solutions, and estimated costs in preparation for the capital campaign.

Fall 2016: We conducted 25 Focus Groups, open to all members of our community, to gather input on needs, vision, and direction of the campaign, and formed a Capital Campaign Steering Committee.

Winter 2017: We launched the Capital Campaign, Not for Ourselves Alone: Building an Inclusive Future, with a kickoff celebration on March 11. Individual and group visits with congregants throughout 2017 resulted in about $4.5 million in pledges and gifts.

Spring 2017: An Architect Selection Committee of congregants evaluated potential firms and unanimously selected Miller Dunwiddie Architecture.

Fall 2017: A Building Team, with Rev. Jen Crow as staff lead, was formed to work with the architects throughout the process of design development, project planning, and construction. Members and friends were invited to two listening sessions to share ideas directly with our architects.

Spring 2018: Schematic design ideas (preliminary drawings meant to illustrate what is possible) were presented that proposed adding square footage in the form of a third floor on the education wing. When cost estimates came in, it was determined that this solution was financially out of reach.

2018–2019: The congregations of First Universalist and Shir Tikvah explored whether a renovated and expanded shared campus at 3400 Dupont could be mutually beneficial and financially feasible. After a period of relationship building and careful consideration, the exploration of co-location was discontinued in fall 2019.

Fall 2019: The Building Team was reconstituted, an Owner’s Representative was hired, and planning for renovations in 2020 began to move forward in earnest once again.