February 9, 2025
On Wednesday, 2/5, the building inspector did a walk-through to look at the dropped ceiling. We passed!
Also last week, Interstate Fire & Safety passed the final inspection for the flow of water in the sprinkler's line.
Interior painting has been happening.
February 2, 2025
Last week:
Bright Electric completed the connection of electric wiring for outlets, switches, and lighting and the installation of all smoke detectors and strobe lights. The "rough" fire inspection passed with no issues.
Polytemp finished installing the PVC drain pipes. All condensing lines for interior units have been installed.
Murphy Brothers did a first coat of paint in the sanctuary and multi-purpose room. All walls in the pantry have been closed, taped and primed. The pocket door from the pantry to the MPR has been installed. They continued with the installation of the acoustic ceiling tile in the sanctuary.
On Thursday, Paul Gross, Kevin Weber and Ken Perry delivered our pulpit to the new space. On Friday morning, Paul and our tech consultant Kris met with Bright Electric onsite to review the location of the wiring needs for our audio visual equipment.
On Wednesday, 2/5, the building inspector did a walk-through to look at the dropped ceiling. We passed!
Also last week, Interstate Fire & Safety passed the final inspection for the flow of water in the sprinkler's line.
Interior painting has been happening.
February 2, 2025
Last week:
Bright Electric completed the connection of electric wiring for outlets, switches, and lighting and the installation of all smoke detectors and strobe lights. The "rough" fire inspection passed with no issues.
Polytemp finished installing the PVC drain pipes. All condensing lines for interior units have been installed.
Murphy Brothers did a first coat of paint in the sanctuary and multi-purpose room. All walls in the pantry have been closed, taped and primed. The pocket door from the pantry to the MPR has been installed. They continued with the installation of the acoustic ceiling tile in the sanctuary.
On Thursday, Paul Gross, Kevin Weber and Ken Perry delivered our pulpit to the new space. On Friday morning, Paul and our tech consultant Kris met with Bright Electric onsite to review the location of the wiring needs for our audio visual equipment.
As of 1/19/2025
New Home Update to the Congregation -- January 19, 2025
New Home Update to the Congregation -- January 19, 2025
- The walls are up. Last week, the contractors finished taping and applied one coat of primer. The walls will be a warm white color with the exception of a pale blue accent wall at the back of the sanctuary. The back wall of the pantry (kitchenette) will also be pale blue.
- Installation of the HVAC units has begun.
- The builders have created a recessed space at the front of the sanctuary for our stained glass window.
- The frame for the halo lighting is up.
- We ordered two chairs from Church Chairs 4 Less. Several people tried sitting in one of them last Sunday. The chair received mixed reviews. Arlin is looking into other options, including chairs like we use in the chapel at South Church.
- The pantry will have counters, a sink, a refrigerator, cabinets and a dishwasher. We will need to supply a microwave oven, toaster oven, coffee maker, etc.
- Our lease precludes us from having a permanent sign outside, but we are able to put up a temporary sign on Sundays. (Our landlords subsequently indicated a willingness to allow a permanent sign.) We have learned that the Town of Greenburgh will not allow a sign on Central Ave. Lenore Lupie is spearheading the sign effort. Clare Francis, who is a graphic designer, has offered to design something for us.
- Projected time to completion (as per BuilderTrend, the contractor's online portal): March 3-6, last week of work. Then we need to get the Certificate of Occupancy. Our contract, Ron, does not expect the CO to take long, especially since inspections have been happening along the way.
As of 12/22/2024
The space at 210 North Central Ave is rapidly taking shape. Our contractors, Murphy Brothers, have inspections scheduled for the "rough" work on plumbing, electrical, framing, and HVAC. The space will be ready for walls, insulation, ceiling, and flooring. Fabricating the cabinets for the pantry and for the doors will take us into early to mid February as the target for occupancy.
As of 11/21/2024
We received the building permit from the Town of Greenburgh on Friday, November 15. Demolition work started on Monday, November 18. Multiple contractors are engaged in the work. Members of the board will monitor construction as we move forward.
As of 12/22/2024
The space at 210 North Central Ave is rapidly taking shape. Our contractors, Murphy Brothers, have inspections scheduled for the "rough" work on plumbing, electrical, framing, and HVAC. The space will be ready for walls, insulation, ceiling, and flooring. Fabricating the cabinets for the pantry and for the doors will take us into early to mid February as the target for occupancy.
As of 11/21/2024
We received the building permit from the Town of Greenburgh on Friday, November 15. Demolition work started on Monday, November 18. Multiple contractors are engaged in the work. Members of the board will monitor construction as we move forward.
As of 10/29/2024
In anticipation of securing the building permit soon, we are reviewing and approving details of the planned proposals from the contractor.
These are the selections for carpet, flooring, pantry cabinets and counters:
In anticipation of securing the building permit soon, we are reviewing and approving details of the planned proposals from the contractor.
These are the selections for carpet, flooring, pantry cabinets and counters:
After gathering details about heating and ventilation in the space we have concluded that we will need the new HVAC system. It is included in the $322k overall cost.
The building is heated by hydronic radiators. It is kept on low all the time, and each unit calls for additional heat. However, if we are solo in the building on Sunday, it will take considerable time for our radiators to have enough hot water since other tenants won't be calling for it. By installing the new system we will have control and quick response to have our space be comfortable for the hours and the members who are using it. The many features (heat, cooling, airflow, as well as dehumidifiers) will be under our control.
The treasurer is preparing a review of "how we are paying for this" as well as "how we support our operating budget" and will present to the congregation soon.
As of 10/27/2024
Our architect and our contractors have been working steadily to provide the details required by the Town Building Department for the permit application. This level of detail is a new procedure, required for all building permits, apparently not unique to the Town or the State of NY.
Meanwhile so that once we get the permit we will be ready to go, our architectural designer (Lauren) has provided us with the samples for flooring, carpet, and pantry cabinetry, and the members of those committees and the board are making the final selections. Murphy Brothers was alerted by their suppliers of a pending price increase, and has ordered the fridge and dishwasher at the current price and will store them until they can be installed. As long as they see the future in this space, we can believe in it too.
As of 9/30/2024
On Wednesday, September 25, our 210 North Central Avenue landlord forwarded a letter he received from the Town of Greenburgh Buildings Department. The letter, which was also sent to KG&D and Murphy Brothers, requested additional information for our building permit application. We have been in touch with Lauren from KG&D. She has assured Denise, Susan and Lisa that they will pull together the information and get it to the buildings department as quickly as possible.
As of 9/20/2024
Susan Greenberg met with members of the construction team at 210 yesterday. They wanted to see our space and ask questions so they're ready to hit the ground running when the building permit comes through!
As of 9/19/2024
As of September 12th, we have signed a contract with Murphy Brothers Contracting and the application for the Building Permit has been filed with the Town of Greenburgh.
Click here to review the plans.
As of 8/21/2024
The board has chosen the contractor who submitted the far-lower bid, to do the renovation at 210 NCA.
We await an updated proposal from them, based on some details we asked them to specify. As soon as that is submitted, our architects at KG&D will resubmit our application to the town of Greenburgh for a building permit.
As of 8/2/2024
We met with 3 contractors this past week for walk-throughs. We have proposals from 2 contractors. The board will be reviewing them with Russ and Lauren, considering price, scheduling, availability, and other factors. We expect to accept a proposal early next week so the application for the building permit can be submitted.
Stay tuned!
As of 7/25/2024
As of today, we have three contractors visiting the space at 210 North Central Ave Suite 130, preliminary to responding to the request for proposal with a bid, and selection of contractor for the application for building permit. Our architect, Lauren, and at least one board member (Susan), will be joining the contractors at each of these meetings.
Thursday 7/25/24 2 pm Murphy Brothers Contracting
Friday 7/26/24 11 am Frank's Contracting
Tuesday 7/30/24 9 am Matty Romito
As of 7/19/2024
We hit a very frustrating bump in the road this week: For the first time in their experience, our architects (KG&D) had their application for a building department permit refused because it did not include contractor info, including cost estimates. We have spoken with the architects and agreed to contact our proposed contractors ourselves (which Denise and Susan have done) to alert them to expect an email from the architects soliciting their bids on our project based on the plans. (KG&D stressed that they would ask contractors to suggest "value engineering" items, which translates to places where we might implement cost-cutting alternatives to proposed plans.)
When we have those bids in hand, we can select a contractor quickly and KG&D will submit the revised application. In the meantime, we also got approval of our building plans from the owners (who remarked, “beautiful plans” when they saw our proposal). They completed and notarized a required affidavit of ownership—which will also be part of the revised application.
We have reminded KG&D of the need for speed here—although they already knew. Everyone involved is primed to move as quickly as possible.
Lisa, on behalf of the team
As of 7/14/2024
Russell Davidson of KG&D Architects and his associate, Lauren Irons, Architectural Designer, are the team working on our space. They are responding in a timely manner and are proceeding with due diligence.
Recent steps have been:
· June 26th Denise "checked in" with Lauren regarding permitting and contracting. Denise gave them the list of contractors gathered from the congregation. Lauren is preparing to file for permits in mid-July. The construction plans, which need to be much more detailed than the concept plans that were submitted to us for review, were being drawn up and readied for the application. This step is done by the engineers.
· July 9th Lauren contacted us on behalf of the engineers, requesting access to the space to finalize the plans. Susan coordinated this with the building’s property manager.
· July 10th Lauren requested the check to the Town of Greenburgh for the building permit application ($2500) and a signed and notarized "owner authorization" form so KG&D could submit for the building permit on our behalf.
· July 11th Susan and Denise coordinated getting the documents printed, signed, notarized, and returned.
· July 12th Susan picked up the notarized form and check from Denise and drove them back to Lauren at KG&D in Mt Kisco, so that she can file for the building permit Friday or first thing Monday.
It usually takes about a month for the building permit approval process. During this time, Russ will distribute the plans to contractors for bidding. Then we review bids and engage contractors so construction will hopefully commence some point in September or early October.
We know this is longer than everyone hoped. Any of you who have experienced construction projects knows that this process—from beginning to end—always take longer than expected.
The building is heated by hydronic radiators. It is kept on low all the time, and each unit calls for additional heat. However, if we are solo in the building on Sunday, it will take considerable time for our radiators to have enough hot water since other tenants won't be calling for it. By installing the new system we will have control and quick response to have our space be comfortable for the hours and the members who are using it. The many features (heat, cooling, airflow, as well as dehumidifiers) will be under our control.
The treasurer is preparing a review of "how we are paying for this" as well as "how we support our operating budget" and will present to the congregation soon.
As of 10/27/2024
Our architect and our contractors have been working steadily to provide the details required by the Town Building Department for the permit application. This level of detail is a new procedure, required for all building permits, apparently not unique to the Town or the State of NY.
Meanwhile so that once we get the permit we will be ready to go, our architectural designer (Lauren) has provided us with the samples for flooring, carpet, and pantry cabinetry, and the members of those committees and the board are making the final selections. Murphy Brothers was alerted by their suppliers of a pending price increase, and has ordered the fridge and dishwasher at the current price and will store them until they can be installed. As long as they see the future in this space, we can believe in it too.
As of 9/30/2024
On Wednesday, September 25, our 210 North Central Avenue landlord forwarded a letter he received from the Town of Greenburgh Buildings Department. The letter, which was also sent to KG&D and Murphy Brothers, requested additional information for our building permit application. We have been in touch with Lauren from KG&D. She has assured Denise, Susan and Lisa that they will pull together the information and get it to the buildings department as quickly as possible.
As of 9/20/2024
Susan Greenberg met with members of the construction team at 210 yesterday. They wanted to see our space and ask questions so they're ready to hit the ground running when the building permit comes through!
As of 9/19/2024
As of September 12th, we have signed a contract with Murphy Brothers Contracting and the application for the Building Permit has been filed with the Town of Greenburgh.
Click here to review the plans.
As of 8/21/2024
The board has chosen the contractor who submitted the far-lower bid, to do the renovation at 210 NCA.
We await an updated proposal from them, based on some details we asked them to specify. As soon as that is submitted, our architects at KG&D will resubmit our application to the town of Greenburgh for a building permit.
As of 8/2/2024
We met with 3 contractors this past week for walk-throughs. We have proposals from 2 contractors. The board will be reviewing them with Russ and Lauren, considering price, scheduling, availability, and other factors. We expect to accept a proposal early next week so the application for the building permit can be submitted.
Stay tuned!
As of 7/25/2024
As of today, we have three contractors visiting the space at 210 North Central Ave Suite 130, preliminary to responding to the request for proposal with a bid, and selection of contractor for the application for building permit. Our architect, Lauren, and at least one board member (Susan), will be joining the contractors at each of these meetings.
Thursday 7/25/24 2 pm Murphy Brothers Contracting
Friday 7/26/24 11 am Frank's Contracting
Tuesday 7/30/24 9 am Matty Romito
As of 7/19/2024
We hit a very frustrating bump in the road this week: For the first time in their experience, our architects (KG&D) had their application for a building department permit refused because it did not include contractor info, including cost estimates. We have spoken with the architects and agreed to contact our proposed contractors ourselves (which Denise and Susan have done) to alert them to expect an email from the architects soliciting their bids on our project based on the plans. (KG&D stressed that they would ask contractors to suggest "value engineering" items, which translates to places where we might implement cost-cutting alternatives to proposed plans.)
When we have those bids in hand, we can select a contractor quickly and KG&D will submit the revised application. In the meantime, we also got approval of our building plans from the owners (who remarked, “beautiful plans” when they saw our proposal). They completed and notarized a required affidavit of ownership—which will also be part of the revised application.
We have reminded KG&D of the need for speed here—although they already knew. Everyone involved is primed to move as quickly as possible.
Lisa, on behalf of the team
As of 7/14/2024
Russell Davidson of KG&D Architects and his associate, Lauren Irons, Architectural Designer, are the team working on our space. They are responding in a timely manner and are proceeding with due diligence.
Recent steps have been:
· June 26th Denise "checked in" with Lauren regarding permitting and contracting. Denise gave them the list of contractors gathered from the congregation. Lauren is preparing to file for permits in mid-July. The construction plans, which need to be much more detailed than the concept plans that were submitted to us for review, were being drawn up and readied for the application. This step is done by the engineers.
· July 9th Lauren contacted us on behalf of the engineers, requesting access to the space to finalize the plans. Susan coordinated this with the building’s property manager.
· July 10th Lauren requested the check to the Town of Greenburgh for the building permit application ($2500) and a signed and notarized "owner authorization" form so KG&D could submit for the building permit on our behalf.
· July 11th Susan and Denise coordinated getting the documents printed, signed, notarized, and returned.
· July 12th Susan picked up the notarized form and check from Denise and drove them back to Lauren at KG&D in Mt Kisco, so that she can file for the building permit Friday or first thing Monday.
It usually takes about a month for the building permit approval process. During this time, Russ will distribute the plans to contractors for bidding. Then we review bids and engage contractors so construction will hopefully commence some point in September or early October.
We know this is longer than everyone hoped. Any of you who have experienced construction projects knows that this process—from beginning to end—always take longer than expected.