By Pete Krawitz
As you probably are aware, the house committee has finished up their work with the consultants from Schacht-Aslani Architects. The 165-page report highlights the current state of the building and various building improvement options ranging from minor refurbishment to a complex redevelopment and even relocation. I’m going to be brief in my summary for the article, however, if you are interested in reading the full report, please e-mail [email protected] or stop by the office and ask Harold.
There was one option that we, as the House Committee, also developed. Option Zero. The cost of doing nothing. If our current building upkeep costs vs income are any indication of the future, we are on a likely trajectory to be in a difficult financial situation in the next 20-30 years. This is assuming no major building system failures (i.e. roof or plumbing).
Bottom line is we need to do something. At a minimum, there are some structural, electrical, and plumbing works that need to happen if we want to ensure our building to continue to be a safe place for our members and the community. Our hall is our primary source of income, we need to take care of it. As you’d imagine, none of this work will be cheap. Estimates, even for the most minor of renovations, will be in the range of $600K – $1M.
At our last meeting, the post voted to allow the house committee to engage in a multi-phase plan to see if it’s financially feasible to conduct a major renovation of the post. The first phase will be to develop a “business plan”. If the return on investment is compelling enough, we’ll move into the second phase where we’ll focus on fundraising feasibility. Our goal is to fundraise 100% of the renovation costs. The third phase would be the actual fundraising. The fourth phase, assuming all of the other phases were successful, will be the actual renovation project planning and the subsequent renovation.
It’s an exciting time to be part of this post, however, this is a lot of work and we’ll need all of the help we can get if we want to ensure a project like this is successful. We’ll be looking for volunteers for various committees in the near future. Stop by during our business meetings to learn more or send a message to [email protected].