On June 30, UUSM celebrated the completion of the Arizona Lobby renovation project. Board Vice President Vilma Ortiz cut the ribbon connecting Forbes Hall with the lobby and Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae sprinkled the entrance with sacred water collected from our Water Communion In-Gathering service every year, noting the importance of a welcoming entrance, accessibility, and safety which are all improved by the project.
The new entry is indeed welcoming and light-filled, with a new and lovely view into the Garden of Eternity. The wide entry ramp from the Arizona Avenue sidewalk will allow wheelchair users to enter directly from Arizona Avenue, and the staircase provides safer egress from the second floor.
Angeline Forbes Hall was built in 1960, and the concrete slab of the original building had subsided and cracked over the years. The new project has strengthened the foundation, replaced the windows with more durable and energy-efficient windows, and provided our social hall with a lovely entry area. Equally important, it has once again given us back the use of several additional bathrooms.
Many UUSM members and staff deserve hearty thanks for helping us complete this complex project. Among them are Facility Committee members Abby Arnold, Beth Brownlie, Brad Hutchinson, Alison Kendall, Karl Lisovsky, Bryan Oakes, and John Zinner, and Church Administrator Nurit Gordon. We are grateful for all the generous UUSM members who donated to the Arizona Lobby project and helped match funding from the UUA Spirit Level Grant.
—Alison Kendall, Green Living Chair and Facilities Committee member
For a full history of the project, you can see all the project post updates HERE.
