A Welcoming Place to Match Our Welcoming Hearts

St. Mary’s Renovation

Accessibility • Safety • Hospitality • Environmental Responsibility

We have been working toward this remodel a decade. Covid put a big pause on our plans, but we are finally ready to turn our dreams into a reality! New carpet. Restoring and expanding elevator access. Remodeled main floor bathrooms and kitchen. Solar panels. And more!

Thanks to your generosity, we reached our fundraising goal! Working with our architects from Robertson Sherwood, and our contractor, McKenzie Commercial, we have begun construction! We are updating this space weekly with new updates.

New Details:

Sheetrock is going up! Reconfigured spaces are starting to take shape!
The roof over Berktold Hall is being replaced and the current tiles need to be abated for asbestos during the removal. Due to the roof and ceiling construction, the hall is blocked during part of this work. The current schedule shows this portion of work being finished in early June.
All robes - choir, acolytes, and lay eucharistic ministers - are being moved to the Damascus room in the Sunday School wing which will serve as our vesting space while Berktold Hall is not available.
The Sunday School class that meets in the Damascus room will meet in Bingham's office for this the time being.
The Liturgical Choir will do their Sunday warm ups in the demolished choir room on the top floor. Please access that space via the stairs on the Berktold Hall side.
The new elevator shaft is being framed. Next time you’re in, check it out. It’s next to the main level men’s restroom.
The new vestment closet on the top floor, which was previously part of the conference room, has been framed.
The single door entrance to the Guild Room has been cut to accommodate the future double doors.
The ceiling of the hallway between the courtyard entrance and the alley entrance has been demolished. The plans now include raising that ceiling up to allow more space and light and more welcoming and hospitable feel to the space.

Some Recap:

The main level men's restroom has been demolished! After much research, we have decided to forego porta potties. Instead, we will do the main level restroom work in two stages.
While the men's restroom is being rebuilt, the women's restroom will serve as a single-occupancy restroom for all. When the men's restroom is finished, we will switch to the women's restroom and use the men's restroom as a single-occupancy restroom for all. For our temporary main level restroom, have installed a lock for additional privacy. There are also two restrooms in the Sunday School wing - one in the hallway and one inside the Damascus classroom.
The lifts (elevators) have been ordered! This was a complicated piece of the project, and we are excited to be on our way to being a more accessible building.
Temporary arrangements have been made to allow our ministries to continue during construction, so you will notice rough flooring and some roped off areas.
The area rug in the Guild Room has been taken away to have it cleaned, repaired, and stored offsite until this renovation is complete.
Many work room items, including the copier and paper cutter, have been moved to the office that Judy Alison and the Sunday School team share in the Sunday School wing. If you need access to any of those items and don’t know how to get to them, please find a staff member to help you.
Staff and ministry mailboxes have been removed as part of the demolition. All items that were left in the mailboxes were labeled and saved. For the time being some staff members have temporary mailboxes on a hanging vinyl file organizer outside of Lana’s office. A few more might be added to that group. We are still figuring out all our temporary organization systems. If you need to access anything you left in a mailbox, please contact a staff member.
With the exception of the lifts (elevators) we anticipate being finished by July. Of course, there are always opportunities for unforeseen delays, so we appreciate your patience.
All construction is being phased by area to attempt to ensure the least amount of disruption possible. As mentioned above, the narthex and work room are the first phase.
Our number one priority is to keep handicap accessibility to the sanctuary on Sundays throughout the project.

Questions? We would love to chat with you! Reach out to a committee member: Terrie S, the Rev. Bingham Powell, Flossie B, or Louise Fortuna. If you don’t have our contact information, Bingham and Louise are listed on the clergy and staff page

Accessibility

Improving accessibility means

restoring access to the Sunday School wing and Berktold Hall by replacing our broken lift.
expanding access to the top floor - where our choir practices and groups meet in our conference room - by adding lift access.
renovating the restrooms to include accessible stalls and sinks.
new flooring that makes it easier for wheelchairs and walkers to maneuver.

Safety

Improving safety means

replacing our old carpet. The old carpet is past its life span. It cannot be stretched anymore and is a tripping hazard.
replacing carpet on the stairs with a slip-resistant material to help prevent tripping.
replacing our stairwell handrails with new handrails that are less likely to catch purses or jackets.
adding a new exit in the sanctuary. Our current exit doors meet code requirements, but after many discussions with parishioners, we see value in adding an exit near the front of the church.
replacing windows in the Guild Room and staff offices so they can open.
abating asbestos so that it is not a danger when repairs are made to the building.

Hospitality

Improving hospitality means

renovating our restrooms so they are clean and welcoming facilities.
renovating our small kitchen to replace broken flooring and appliances, and to generally create a space that meets our current needs.
creating a new welcome center that invites visitors into our church home.
widening the entrance to the Guild Room to enhance the use of that space for receptions and coffee hours.

Environmental Responsibility

Improving environmental responsibility means

adding solar panels to the top of the Berktold Hall roof to power our many energy needs.
replacing old lighting with LEDs and bringing in more natural light when possible.
considering environmental impact in every element of this renovation project.