Buy and Renovate an Existing Non-Church Building
Basic Description:
NSUC buys an existing commercial, industrial or school building, gets it rezoned to permit church use, and renovates it to suit our needs.
Pros:
- We could save money on the structure if the building is in relatively good shape and adaptable to church use
- The renovation would be under NSUC’s exclusive control, as would be occupancy and maintenance. We wouldn't have to please anyone else.
- If costs begin to escalate out of control during construction, it may be possible to defer renovations on a portion of the building (phase the construction) until a later date without having to compromise on quality & finish of the work being done
- It’s possible we wouldn’t have to share common areas, walls or parking facilities with anyone else
- This form of exclusive ownership and control is what NSUC is used to
- If we could find a suitable freestanding building on its own land, would result in traditional land ownership (we can feel the dirt)
- Probable ease of access to outside space
- Consistent with UU philosophy of recycling and reuse of resources
- Depending on actual building design, it’s possible there could be flexibility for future expansion if needed later
Cons:
- May be impossible to find a suitable commercial or industrial building on the North Shore
- Especially one that will accommodate a sanctuary, have enough Sunday parking, and be in attractive surroundings
- Industrial buildings, such as warehouses, can be very difficult to make attractive from the outside, and are often located in unattractive areas of town
- May be equally impossible to find a surplus school property we could buy on our own at an affordable price
- North Van School Board sells its surplus properties in a competitive bidding process, and seeks highest prices
- Surplus school properties, such as Cloverley, are too large for our needs, and we would need to purchase with a partner
- Would require rezoning of the property for church use
- For commercial/industrial buildings, would need to convince the municipality that church use is compatible with the commercial or industrial area involved, and overcome reluctance to take the property off the tax rolls
- Rezoning school buildings, which are likely to be near residential housing, is often highly political and controversial
- Can be very challenging to redesign an existing building for church use
- Design flexibility would be greatly limited, as basic structure is already built
- Choices for a fully green building, sustainable design, likely to be more limited than for designing a building from scratch
- Renovation process can involve unexpected risks and unforeseen difficulties. Often huge problems not discovered until renovation underway
- We would have to fund all design and investigation costs upfront, and would have full exposure to cost overruns, construction delays, etc.
- Would require moving NSUC into interim space for the period of years it will take us to find and buy the property and then design and do the renovations
- Since we cannot spend money or make firm commitments until our contract for Mathers sale becomes unconditional, we can’t make much progress toward securing a used church until then
- A former commercial or industrial property is not likely to permit combination with housing development of any type, such as senior or elder-care housing
Hypothetical Budget Study
For a hypothetical budget study based on this development option, using arbitrary but hopefully reasonable assumptions, please see Table 2 below.
