In our last update, we reported that we received four bids for the project in December and narrowed them to two companies. Since then, the campaign leadership team has done its due diligence in asking for value engineering reductions in costs, as well as met with both contractors and spoken with a prior customer of each company.
The team has chosen D.E.R. Development Company as the winning bid. They are a third generation, family-owned construction company with over 75 years of service in the tri-state area. They pride themselves on their years of experience, as well as being able to self-perform many project tasks that are normally subbed out with their team of experienced contractors. The projected start date is April 3rd and estimated completion date is April of 2024.
As you will recall, our original cost estimate was $4.2M. We met our pledge goal back in 2021 and since then have garnered new pledges in the amount of $300,000 for a total of nearly $4.5M in pledges. D.E.R.’s bid in combination with the contingency, Archdiocesan assessment and estimated loan interest came in at $4,686,554, which includes the increase in material cost and inflation over the last 18 months. Finance Council and Pastoral Council have both approved respective motions to move forward with the new project costs.
We are beyond grateful to report that half of our donors have completed their pledges and so we have $2.5M in-hand. This means we will not have to take a loan for some time, and will lead to less interest charges. It also gives the team a chance to reach out to parishioners who have not made a pledge, in hopes of gaining new pledges to cover the close to $200,000 shortfall. It is also our hope that current donors might consider advancing their pledges by a month, a quarter, or whatever is feasible in order to collect funds sooner and end up with an even smaller loan amount/interest.
We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, your pledges, your patience and your love for this great parish. What an exciting year this will be as we complete this long-awaited addition to our campus.
Blessings,
Parish Community Center Leadership Team: Fr. Larry Tensi, Greg Ionna, Cathy Nagy, Patrick Lesher with the help of parishioner construction experts Tim Elmore and Larry Kramer