Work in Progress: Our New Sanctuary (Page 2)

Work this week continued with preparing the site. The soil is prepped and ready for the foundation. The outline of the building has been marked in orange spray paint on the soil. It is hard to see on the webcam, but easier on site. The squares closest to the coffee cart spot are for poles to support the awning. We are getting a bigger sanctuary! The next couple of weeks will be busy with getting all the underground infrastructure ready…

The old building is really gone now, with just a small pile of rubble left. The old building’s foundation was 8 inches deeper on one side than the other. Yikes! It’s all gone now. The web cam is making it easy to check our progress, and the time lapse videos are just so much fun! Check the web page! Work this week has been focused on preparing the site. They dug down several feet and found our soil is wetter…

What a week of progress! Hoffman & Associates’ construction crew started off the work week on Monday, September 9 by removing the exterior parapet walls and removing material from the interior of the building to prepare for its demolition. “Demolition Day” followed on Wednesday, September 11 with a large CAT (Caterpillar brand) excavator tearing away the rear of the building. The activity was out of range of the construction camera but Rev. Sian and Bob Loeschen were there to document…

Following our groundbreaking event on Sunday, September 1, our contractor began the day after Labor Day (September 3) to prepare the site for demolition. Bricks and pavers in the courtyard were removed to be reused later in the project and a chain link construction fence was installed surrounding the work site. They also capped the sewer and water supply and Edison removed the electric meter, de-energizing the building. Recyclable materials, including lumber, were removed from the building. A kick-off construction…

Construction of the new sanctuary is right around the corner. The builder has the permits and has been ordering materials for our project. A construction trailer and storage trailer have been delivered and set up in the rear of the property along with two portable toilets.  The official groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 1 immediately following the Sunday Service on the church courtyard. Please plan on joining us to celebrate the transition of this space into our beautiful…

According to our sanctuary architect Toni Pyjar from domusstudio, who is our primary liaison with the City of Costa Mesa, things have been moving along this week: PlanningThe new planner assigned to the project, Christopher Aldana, has communicated with us many times this week. I’ve found him to be very responsive and service-oriented. A much-deserved breath of fresh air from the planning dept.He reviewed the site photometrics and the existing parking lighting passed entirely, except one area in the southwest…

Here is the latest update provided to our new OCUUC sanctuary project team from Toni Pyjar, our project architect contact at domusstudio, who is our primary liaison with the City of Costa Mesa. “We have some good news for you. We received some plan check comments from the City! Upon first review, they appear to have no significant architectural impact on the project scope. We will request clarification of some of their comments and; of course, advocate with the church’s…

The New Sanctuary Construction Committee continues to focus its efforts on work with our architect to provide additional materials requested by the new City of Costa Mesa planner. It has been a long and frustrating process that has recently culminated in contacts with experienced Assistant Director of Development Services Scott Drapkin to discuss concerns in hopes of expediting the review process. Once review of the materials is completed by the planner, the project will finally move closer toward the City…

The New Sanctuary Construction Committee, a subcommittee of the Property Use Group (PUG), focused its efforts this past month on work with our architect to provide additional materials requested by the new City of Costa Mesa planner. Once review of the materials is completed by the planner, we hope the project will finally move closer toward the City granting our building permit. Our team is patiently awaiting a reply from the City in the near future and we’ll let you…

January 2022 kicks off the start of a milestone year at OCUUC as we begin deconstruction of the two-story Suite 4 and construction of the new sanctuary where Suite 4 once stood. Hooray! The question Nancy Loughrey and I are asked most often is “when will the deconstruction and construction activity begin on site?” And the answer we provide is the same–when we receive our building permit. Once that happens, the process will move full speed ahead toward a dedication…

The sanctuary committee met with the architect, domusstudio, on November 10 on Zoom to discuss project status and information requested by the City of Costa Mesa for approval of the Development Review Plan. Committee members who worked on the original new sanctuary plan back in 2013 were able to access important documents from that project including the shared parking agreement with Piecemakers and Torelli Real Estate. Additionally we contacted Dig Alert to verify that the location of the existing underground…

As we get closer to the targeted date of early February 2022 when the demolition of the existing Suite 4 building is to take place, there are a number of tasks that are in need of completion. The construction committee continues to move forward on these requirements in collaboration with our architect, domusstudio. Most importantly we are awaiting feedback on the Development Review Plan submitted last month to the City of Costa Mesa Department of Development Services. Once feedback is…