NEW BEGINNINGS REPORT
All the members of the New Beginning
Committee and fifteen other members of the
church attended an open meeting on December 3, at the East 30th Street
Church for
three hours. In addition to our verbal presentations, we had posters
with pictures of
the locations, and examples from architect brochures, and a program
poster. There
were three subjects: location, architects, and program options. After
hearing the
presentations, those attending were asked to place first, second and
third place
color-coded stickers beside the options that most appealed to them. The
locations
and architects below are listed in the order of the number of first
place stickers
each received.
Members of the committee, Dean Sieck and
Charlene Higginbotham, presented six
possible viable location options, indicating that none was perfect, that
each came
with advantages and concerns.
1. 3000 Euclid Avenue at East 30th
(the First Methodist Church building that we are
now renting) - We are familiar with the worship space and meeting space,
but we
toured the school space which has been renovated. Concerns are about the
age and
condition of the building, major systems such as the roof, HVAC,
plumbing, and
electrical, and the outside of the building were voiced. Another concern
is parking.
Investigation is being made of operating costs.
2. 5426 Broadway just north of East 55th
(the Broadway United Methodist Church) –
This is an attractive neighborhood church that is in moderately good
shape and
reasonably accessible. Concerns were about the location of the church,
changes in the
neighborhood, and the real condition of the building. Recent renovations
were done
to part of the building to house United Methodist District offices, but
the rest of
the building may need some work, including a new roof.
3. 11910 Fairhill at Martin Luther King
Jr. Drive ( the Benjamin Rose Institute
property parking lot at that corner) – We could build on existing
parking areas in
collaboration with BRI. It could have a great view over the city,
because it
overlooks the water treatment plant across MLK. It is near Fairhill
Center that now
houses a cluster of programs for all ages, and near Kindred Hospital.
However the
site may be chosen by the Cleveland Clinic which uses the existing
parking.
4. 450 East 112th Street , between East
110th and 112th north of St. Clair (Forest
Hills Parkway Elementary School) – A closed school on a 5 acre site,
near City Park,
and near public transportation. However, there is a question as to
whether the school
itself should be torn down or renovated, and what the relative costs
might be; there
may be environmental clean-up problems. There are some questions about
the
neighborhood, but it is largely residential.
5. Coltman Road and 123rd Street -
This is an old and very large commercial building
once used by RTA as a trolley barn.. It would require complete
detoxification and
major renovation. It is near Euclid Avenue, close to University Circle
and public
transportation, including the rapid. There is some new development in
the area.
6. Monticello Road at Lee Boulevard in
Cleveland Heights – This standing building is
the former headquarters of the Medusa Cement Company. It was an office
building for
executives; the first floor is presently used as an elder daycare
center. It is
located near both the Cleveland Heights Recreation Center and Forest
Hills
Presbyterian Church, a flourishing progressive church with a substantial
membership.
The Committee has interviewed four
architects. This information was presented by
Kathleen Stoll.
1. CITY ARCHITECTURE does a lot of
urban planning and neighborhood revitalization.
They have done new additions for the Westside Unitarian Church and
Forest Hills
Church and East Mt. Zion. They formerly did a master plan for EACC and a
renovation
plan, which included major roof repair. One of their jobs was
Intergenerational
Housing to accommodate grandparents raising kids and allow aging in
place. It is one
of two such housing units in the country.
2. MADISON International is a local
architect who has done work for local churches,
and master plans, and one new church in Michigan. Mr. Madison did
suggest the use of
a Charente to elicit discussion among the members of the church as part
of the early
planning process. The firm has done much local work. The firm follows
the project
from beginning to end—like a conductor.
3. SANDVICK is local architect that
specializes in restoration and rehabilitation of
churches, including Old Stone Church and the East 30th St. Church. The
firm does not
appear to have done much new building, but a lot of rehabilitation and
repurposing
and additions for affordable housing.
4. HCO is a national firm that
specializes in churches, and especially new large
churches; many of the sites include a whole campus of program spaces,
such as family
centers, fitness centers, and performance venues. They use state of the
art
technology. They explained three models for architectural planning:
DESIGN/BID,
DESIGN/BUILD, and DESIGN TEAM their method which is to work with a local
architect
through phases of architectural programming, schematic design, and
design
development, then select a local construction company who will
participate actively
in the construction drawings and specifications to assure agreement on
price.
For the presentation of program options, the committee used as a model a
program
survey provided by HCO architects, addressing building needs for space
for worship,
music, fellowship, offices, Christian Education and school age programs,
recreation,
wellness and other special programs. The purpose was to get a better
sense of our
program priorities. Members indicated which program options were most
important to
them, but the analysis is not complete at this time. The survey was
prepared and
presented by Kathleen Stoll.
The Committee is not prepared to present any
specific recommendations at this time,
but we believe we should seek some professional assistance from an
architectural firm
to assist us in evaluating our options and clarifying our programs.
Respectfully
submitted, Kathleen H. Stoll
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