Construction Updates! Old Office Wing Demolition - Tuesday, 9am!! Come Watch!

The Construction

Children of all ages bid fond farewell to the old administrative wing in July, painting remembrances and good

wishes to spaces that had been filled with so much love, prayer, and laughter for decades. (View additional photos on the website, www.smary.org and our Facebook site.) Demolition of that wing met with a short delay due to the discoveryof additional asbestos insulation on the heating pipes buried in the ceiling that must now be abated before taking this wing down. Demolition is scheduled for Tuesday, July 31st at 9am. Consider joining your fellow parishioners for coffee and snacks to watch from a safe distance! In the interim, our contractor started making the cuts between the old office wing and the remaining Parish House structure; the space hasthus been cordoned off for safety reasons.

The “Big Blast” has begun, literally, in the space next to the parish house, thanks to Chase Excavation and McGoldrick blasting company. This excavation has been a sight to behold--a cavernous hole that will become the foundation for the new administrative wing and chapel has quickly appeared! It is anticipated that we will begin seeing work on the “footing” for this wing by the end of July. Sadly, we lost some beloved trees to make room for this foundation; we are attempting to transplant the mature rhododendrons from that area to spaces between the churchyard and the rectory.

In the church, the “Mother Window” is being prepared for removal and refurbishment/repair. It is likely we will be without this glorious window for about three months while the Phoenix Studio completes the work on the stained glass. Work continues in the crypt: The door to the crypt has been refurbished, with locks repaired (thank you Dick Miller, for your loving work!)

Other construction “highlights” include the preparation of the “dry detention basin” that will receive water run-off from the campus (check out the location and work on this element on the eastern side of the property, abutting Pine Grove Cemetery.)

Please Visit - But With Care!

Throughout, the campus remains a “hard hat” area on week-days, and we request that, if able, parishioners park along Foreside Road from Monday-Friday and walk onto the campus. But do please visit! There is an exciting buzz of activity and exciting changes are happening daily. We are hoping to add guided tours by Dick Miller in August to coincide with Souper Suppers on the second and fourth Fridays of each month—enjoy a tour at 4pm followed by supper at 5pm in the auditorium. Stay tuned for further details on this.

The Financing

At a special meeting on July 19th, the Vestry approved unanimously a motion to borrow up to $1,200,000 as a construction loan from Norway Savings Bank. This loan is to cover construction expenditures as we await the receipt of payments on existing pledges over the next 4 years. The Vestry had agreed earlier to accept a floating interest rate (currently 4 percent) ; the loan can be modified to a fixed rate without penalty at a later date if deemed desirable. Monies will be borrowed on an as-needed basis.

To keep our borrowing costs at a minimum, we ask all parishioners to keep current with their pledge commitments; clearly, if you find yourself in a position to pay your pledge ahead of schedule,all the better!! Thank you!