PAVE THE WAY PROJECT
More Parking | More People | More Life Change
Restore is experiencing a good problem as we consistently running out of parking spaces. While we welcome guests each weekend our parking lot becomes difficult to navigate as it quickly fills.
The good news is we have a solution:
We have an opportunity to expand our parking lots as well as improve our exterior presence on Port Centre Pkwy.
This is more than parking or facility updates. It’s about people who will park here and meet Jesus. Years from now God will use our sacrifices to reach people on this corner.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
47 more parking spaces (25 paved 22 grass)
Exterior Improvements including awnings & landscaping
Will you help us raise $250,000 by the end of the year?
Ask the Lord what He’d have you to give.
Grab a commitment card this Sunday at church. We will collect commitment cards from the church Sunday June 9th, 2024. We will collect a “GET THE PROJECT STARTED” offering Sunday June 16th and collect funds until January 31st, 2025.
If you’d like to commit to this project online, click the digital commitment card below.
FAQ
Why do we need more parking?
Each weekend our parking lots fill up as we gather for church. Our front lot fills up fast. Our back lot isn’t laid out well for our traffic flow either. Connecting them will add parking and make Sunday flow easier for everyone. More than half of our church is parking off site at the moment. Many of them are crossing busy streets with small children.
How many parking spaces do churches our size typically have?
Churches our size (350-400 people each weekend) average 200-250 parking spaces when offering 1 service; 100-150 parking spaces when offering 2 services; 100 parking spaces when offering 3 services. We currently have 69 parking spaces.
How many people use our parking lot now?
Our church has been gracious. We typically see 50-60 cars in our lots and 60-70 vehicles parked off site. We have needed this parking for some time. We are grateful to everyone who parks off site each weekend.
How long will this project take?
This is a 6-8 week project, weather permitting. We will lose access to the grass parking on Sundays for most of the summer.
When do we expect to start the project?
Once we commit and pay the contractor, he’s agreed to break ground between June 16th and June 23rd in order to meet our deadline. He’s also added a line in the contract guaranteeing a full refund should he be delayed past June 30th.
Why can’t we just use gravel?
Gravel is viewed differently by each city/county. Portsmouth treats gravel just like asphalt. Gravel would also require a site plan, review and qualified contractor. We can’t just throw down some gravel ourselves to save money.
How much is the parking lot going to cost?
The total cost for the excavation, grading, paving and striping of the new lot will be just under $200,000. This price includes all necessary planting of trees and shrubs to meet current city standards. We will need to spend an additional $22,000 to re-sealcoat and strip our existing lots as well. They’ve been due for maintenance, but we waited hoping we’d get approval for this project to do it all together so it would match.
Do we have to do the landscaping upgrades?
Yes, our site plan was rejected without a landscaping plan. These trees and bushes are required. This is standard with parking lots and building projects in the city of Portsmouth.
How much are the awnings and painting the exterior?
The awnings will add between $14,000 and $18,000 depending on how large we can make them. Painting the exterior will add $15,000 to the project. These portions of the project will be started once the parking lot is finished.
Why didn’t we start fundraising sooner?
Without approval from the city we couldn’t collect funds for a project that may or may not happen. Once money is given to a designated fund, that money must be used for the designated purpose. Once we had city approval we got our bids/proposals together as quickly as possible to begin fundraising.
How many bids/proposals did we receive?
We received 8 proposals from local contractors and paving companies.
What happens if we don’t start before June 30th?
Our grandfathered stormwater rights will expire and this approved plan will no longer apply. We would be held to current stormwater runoff standards and be forced to install much more expensive BMPs (storm water facility) on the property.
How much will it cost if we wait until after June 30th?
It would effectively triple the cost of the project due to installing more BMPs. Every contractor we spoke with said it would add $300,000-$500,000 in cost if we were to expand the BMPs.
Why did it take so long to get approval?
Each time the city rejects a site plan they have 60 days to reject it. We began this process knowing it could be time consuming. Our civil engineers were surprised how many rejections we got. They anticipated approval in 2023 giving us more time to announce and fundraise this project.
Why are we collecting giving toward this project until January 31st, 2025?
A few of our people mentioned they could give more if we spreads the fundraising period out over 2 tax years. We also wanted to give people a longer window to spread out their commitment.
Why are we collecting a special offering on June 16th?
In order to start the project we need to write the contractor a check for 50% of the total job. The check is just under $100,000. We need to collect as much as possible up front to start the work and make sure we have ample reserves as the project progresses.
What if we raise more than $250,000?
If we collect more than the necessary $250,000 we will communicate to the church that we’ve reached our goal. There are additional upgrades we can make to the property that we’ve put off for years including: a church sign closer to port centre pkwy, new windows on the front of the building to add light to the lobby, and an extended awning (drive under). If people would like to continue to give over and above the necessary project total these items would be the next project additions.