Last November, St. John’s received the great news that we had been awarded an $80,000 grant from the Partners for Sacred Places to support “The Campaign for St. John’s”.   Since that time, the Development Committee has been working to define the project scope to be included in the formal grant agreement.  It was decided that replacement of the leaking skylights and other critical roofing and masonry repairs was the highest priority after the recent completion of the bell tower project.  This work should eliminate the water infiltration which is the primary cause of the damage to our ceilings and walls becoming so unfortunately apparent.
 
The grant requires a 2-to-1 match with funds to be raised by St. John’s so the total scope of the project supported by the Partners for Sacred Places grant will be $240,000.  In the next step, St. John’s will work with Levine & Company, our roofing and architectural conservation consultant, to obtain the detailed construction documents necessary to obtain bids from roofing and masonry contractors on the specified work.  Once bids are awarded, the design and construction of the project should take about 9 to 10 months.

On December 4, 2008, Keast & Hood structural engineers came to St. John’s to check on the status of the tower renovation. Following the visit, they sent the committee a PDF with 16 images documenting the progress. They observed that the voids in the walls had been filled; the masonry had been repointed; and a new ladder had been installed at the bell level, among other improvements. Click here to view their photos of the improvements.