Neighbors of Harborview,
I wanted to touch base and bring you up to speed on the Clubhouse. Looking back, its taken 9 months to get to where we are today: you may remember back on May 3 when we held a community meeting where we presented the possible forms the Clubhouse space could take? Let me review where we’ve been:
May 3rd –Aug 27th: We were doing many aspects of research to provide, as best we could the closest costs associated with each of the 5 options for the future of the Clubhouse space. This involved getting our soil tested and analyzed, a structural engineer to assess our soil borings, then worked with the Structural Engineer to get a detailed description of the needed VE foundation, getting contractors to give us as-close-to-possible estimate of the cost of a foundation in a V-E zone, etc).
Aug. 27th: We held Community Meeting / Q+A / exchange around the options of the clubhouse.
Sept. 3rd: We held additional Community Meeting / Q+A / exchange around the options of the clubhouse
Sept. 12th: Community gathered and voted to raise the Clubhouse.
Sept. 20th: Mike McClung and I had a preliminary meeting with P+Z to get an idea of our parameters so we can report information and answer questions the community may have around the subject on Sept. 24th.
Sept. 24th: Community Meeting to take in residents’ thoughts and ideas about the Clubhouse design. Needing to find a starting place we met with the community first to get an idea about what the ideas and concerns were. We also answered questions on the subject of specific Planning and Zoning parameters surrounding the clubhouse. We communicated, at the time, what we believed would be the overall timing of the project, and why we felt it was important to design a structure that was “as-of-right” meaning, no need for a variance. (P&Z had made it clear to us that seeking a variance would require many months with no certainty of a favorable outcome.)
Since that time, the plans have developed in response to the community input that we received, the guidance of our professionals, and the feedback we have received from numerous meetings with the Planning and Zoning office.
Our last communication, Nov. 29th, communicated our surprise that the Zoning Commission had asked to review our project as a CAM application. (Coastal Area Management). This would require months, and normally would not be necessary for a home in our neighborhood, but due to the “clubhouse” zoning of the building, it was required. Happily, after a lengthy review meeting with city zoning official Mike Wrinn, it was agreed that a full CAM review was unnecessary, the plans did not require a variance, and that we could proceed with a letter application to raise the building, and add the new steps, elevator, and deck that we need.
Thus, its with excitement, that I wanted to let you know that it looks like we will have zoning approval in hand momentarily, and we should be able to submit for a building permit by the end of the month.
You’ll note, the current plans are very similar to the first concept drawings that were discussed before the voting to raise the building. As we described in the Sept. 24 meeting: a zoning criteria that we were required to meet was balancing the size of the building, its deck, and its entrance stairs with the amount property that we are allowed to cover. In order to provide a suitable amount of exterior deck space for social gatherings, high tide Fridays, etc., as well as incorporating the coverage of the new front steps, we were required to reduce some of the building footprint elsewhere. Thus, the south “addition” to the building was reduced by 6′ in order to accomplish this, but only after the area of the deck was reduced until we felt that further reduction would harm its ability to support our needs. We felt this was the right approach because the south addition needed total reconstruction anyway, as it was the most heavily damaged from Sandy, and this section also needed to house the new elevator. Additionally, reducing building volume here helped, at least a little, with some of the concerns that immediate neighbors voiced about the increased mass of the elevated building.
Here are the next steps…
- We have a deposit in to Wolfe to raise the building, actual raising date is TBD ( date is determined by Wolfe’s schedule and with those that will be constructing the foundation.)
- We can apply for building permits at the end of the month.
- Bidding: we will be taking competitive bids on the various phases of the construction plan. For the many of you who have been kind enough to send me names of trusted builders, general contractors, foundation builders, etc., trust that I have kept all contacts and have kept them abreast of our process and will be getting quotes from them. At this juncture, our building phases look to include: 1) Raising/lowering , 2) Construction of foundation and securing building to new foundation, 3) Weather tight building (windows, siding, insulation, roofing, etc.), 4) Entranceway and decking (may be in separate phases to allow payment steps), 5) Elevator, 6) HVAC, electrical and plumbing, 7) Interior fit and finish (again, this may be broken down into phases to allow for community work or timing of payments, and finally, 8) landscaping…. The actual phasing will be determined with the help of community expertise and input from contractors as we get bids.
- In the next couple of weeks we will begin the fundraising campaign and provide a community update on the SBA loan and financial management process.
I realize how much the CH plays a part in our life here: we have weddings we want to plan, reunions we’d love to organize, graduation parties we’d love to arrange…. I thank you for your time and patience with this project thus far. As we take this to bidding, a time-line for construction will begin to fall into focus. After the bidding process, we can report what information we receive in terms of a realistic time line for the remaining course of this project.
Thank you for your patience again. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Jenny