A new foundation for our entryway to Forbes Hall and our classrooms upstairs is being carefully laid. It’s not a simple process but, when completed, will lead the way to installation of new flooring, new doors, and new energy-efficient windows for the Arizona Avenue Lobby.
The week of September 12, the work to date was inspected; the City requested the structural engineer to provide an evaluation on the footings prior to them signing off for concrete. Our contractor worked with the structural engineering vendor to get this step scheduled ASAP. By the week of September 26, that observation was completed, and the result is that we are adding some structural steel and rebar epoxy. The structural engineer will need to come back to the site to confirm these changes; then we’ll get a City inspection and be able to pour the concrete.
In June, Board Member Abby Arnold gave us a look at the significant reasons for this construction project, beginning with the fact that the foundation had sunk so that the doors to Arizona Avenue could not be opened. Work began in July and continues to move through the steps in the process.
Please help us to match every dollar of the grant we’ve received from the Spirit Level Foundation. With a very generous donation of $35,000, on top of a number of smaller contributions, we’re over three-fourths of the way now to the goal of $50,000!
During this project, the Arizona Lobby area, including the bathrooms on the 1st and 2nd floors, will be blocked and inaccessible. The only bathrooms available on our campus are three in the Cottage and one in the Sanctuary Lobby. We are sorry for the temporary inconvenience caused by the construction and appreciate everyone’s understanding. We can enter our campus from the front courtyard (the sidewalks on 18th Street and on Arizona Avenue) and from the alley gate next to the kitchen and the Forbes Hall glass doors.
