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Building Committee Update

The Canton Township Planning Commission reviewed our plans for the site on Monday, June 2.  They granted us, by a unanimous vote (and in only 15 minutes) what is called a Special Land Use, which is required when a church is located in an industrial area.  The Canton Township Board of Trustees must now give final approval for the special land use.  That should happen at their meeting on June 24, 2008.

The architects continue to work on the design for the inside of the building.  On the left you can view the video of the concepts the architect is working with for both the inside and outside of the building. The architects continue to meet with the staff and ministry leaders to finalize the layout to maximize ministry within our budget.  The next steps will be to have several contractors give us cost estimates for the work we plan to do.

We have applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to review our plans because Tonquish Creek borders the property on the south, and part of our proposed parking area is in the creek’s floodplain.  Their first review will take place on Wednesday, June 4 at the site.  Following their review, we’ll have a good idea of what we’ll need to do to Part of this process will involve removing the pond that’s on the northeast corner, and replacing it with an underground system for capturing storm water runoff.

Finally, the Board of Directors of National Covenant Properties will meet on Thursday, June 12 to consider our request for a loan of about $2.7 million to fund the property purchase and the renovations.  They’ll want to know what the results from Commitment Sunday as they consider our application. 

During this entire process, we want to remember that Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”  We believe that God is building this house, so our time, talents, and treasures will pay eternal dividends!