Expansion 1996

    Parkwood church had been exploring the idea of expanding its facility since 1984. In that year an architect was hired to put together some ideas for consideration by the congregation, and an "expansion fund" was established. The congregation had outgrown one Sunday worship service and had started a second. In 1987, the minister and family moved out of the "old manse" and purchased their own home, thus enabling the church to "move in". The former living room became "the Fireside Room", the kitchen was transformed into a new large nursery with adjoining crib room, the front porch was winterized and became a preschool room, and the bedrooms upstairs became Sunday School classrooms and meeting rooms. The "old manse" was officially renamed the Fellowship Centre in 1989. But Parkwood still had a narthex (the area immediately outside the sanctuary) that wasn't much more than a hallway. When we hired a part-time youth director in the early '90's, she was given the smallest bed-cum-classroom in the Fellowship Centre as an office. At this stage, further expansion was still in the class of "things hoped for".

    The recession of the early 1990's saw slow but steady growth in the expansion fund. By late 1995 this fund contained enough money to seriously consider expanding, thanks in large part to a bequest the congregation had received earlier in the year. At a meeting called November 25th, the congregation agreed to a building plan to commence the following summer.

    On June 27th, 1996 the congregation accepted a proposal for expansion of the sanctuary and narthex/office area that was estimated to cost slightly over $400,000. On the main floor this added 14 feet to the sanctuary, allowed the narthex to expand to take in the current office space, and provided four new offices, an accessible washroom and an elevator "behind" (west of) the narthex. Downstairs, there would be a new kitchen, a room to store choir music, a large meeting room where the choir could warm up undisturbed on Sundays, and a separate area for 2-3 Sunday School classrooms. The lower hall would lose its posts and gain storage for chairs, tables, etc. in the old kitchen area. Most of the money was already in hand, and no more than $40,000 would need to be financed. The contractor whose bid was accepted was Morley Construction Inc. of Ottawa.

    The project commenced the week of July 1st with the delivery of a trailer to house the church offices while construction was in process. Next came excavation, and the firms were put in place and basement walls poured the week of August 8. By the week of July 29 basement floor had been poured, the main level had been framed and the basement was on it's way to being "stripped". The weeks of Aug. 12 & 19 saw a new roof on the sanctuary, new steel beams installed to support the sanctuary floor and a start on building a new platform in the sanctuary. The floowing few weeks saw walls framed, door frames installed, gyprocking and installation of cedar walls in the expanded sanctuary. The week of Sept. 16 saw the beginning of the installation of the handicapped lift, painting begun and new kitchen cabinets installed. By Sept. 30 new carpetting had been installed in the sanctuary and was in progress in the lower hall. All was substantially done by the week of October 28.

    you can look at the new floor plans here.

 

(picture @ top: the sanctuary was lengthened by approx. 14 feet in 1996)

 

 

 

© 2020, Parkwood Presbyterian Church, 10 Chesterton Drive, Ottawa ON K2E 5S9