Update - Feb 2023

We’ve been chipping away at our building project for about 10 years now!
It’s been a long road / heaps of challenges, and we’ve just hit another (big!) speed bump!
We recently lodged our DA with Council (that’s the application form to build)
Council asked for some additional information, including an Archaeological Due Diligence report (which was all good!) and a Cost Estimate (which was not good!)
We engaged a Quantity Surveyor to estimate our current design.
They said that over the last 3 years, the cost of construction has gone up considerably – by about 30% (and some materials like steel are more like 50%).
So they estimated our project to cost somewhere between $12-14 Million!
Ouch!! That’s way too much!!!
And we also applied for a bunch of grants to help us fund it – but all unsuccessful

So, our Admin Team decided to

i) withdraw the DA

·      (Which is really disappointing, but we felt this was the wisest decision to make). 

·      Jesus said: “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28)

ii) ask the Design Team to go scale back the design so it’s

a) focussed on the essentials for our church ministries

·      eg Sunday gatherings, youth & kids programs, large meeting spaces for events, plus office

·      but excluding the optional-extra’s - like the café, function centre and preschool)

·      We were trying to work out how to maximise community connection + generating some income

·      But the costs to build for that + the additional requirements - far outweigh the benefit

b) only one storey

·      which means no need for a lift and additional bathrooms which are a significant cost.

·      but with the potential to add a second level down the track if needed (by future proofing the footings) - so things like the café and some larger event spaces would still be a possibility

c) able to be built in different stages

·      Stage 1 will hopefully get most if not all of our ministries on site

·      eg Sunday gatherings / youth & kids programs / office + large meeting spaces for events

·      we could also look into some temporary on-site options during stage 1 – like demountables.

·      Stage 2 - more space + purpose built for kids and youth programs and office space.

iii) ask the Architect to help us work out ways to reduce building costs

iv) investigate other cost-effective construction methods (like modular construction);

·      We’ve contacted a few companies that specialise in modular building for public spaces

·      (like schools, sports clubs, aged care homes etc)

·      This is cheaper and quicker (they manufacture off-site, then click it together on site)

·      It would also mean less disruption when we build the next stage

v) see if we can source cheaper materials (from businesses run by Christians we know).

vi) set an approximate budget for $5 Million for stage 1

·      (Which is a lot, but with the rise in costs and all the additional construction costs such as excavation, car park, etc doesn’t go as far as we would hope)

So…God willing, we can

·      re-work the design - to make it much cheaper and more affordable.

·      submit the DA later this year - and get approval to build it – and the

·      put together a fundraising team – and raise enough money to build it

Update - Dec 2022

Our Design Team have been chipping away at the site layout and design for many years.

We've met with council a few times for pre-DA meetings to discuss our concept

We've engaged specialists to help us with the design (architect, ecologist, surveyor, landscaper, archaeologist etc)

We’ve now finally progressed the design to the stage where we can submit our DA.

Check it out! A place to call our own!

Next Steps

The Town Planner we’ve been working with has submitted our DA and is confident that we will get Council's approval.

Once the DA is approved, we’ll need to address any conditions of consent and tweak the design in light of council’s feedback.

We’ll then need to raise a tonne of money to build the thing!

How can you help?

Pray!

Pray that our DA gets approved by Council!

Pray for God to provide all the resources we’ll need to construct it!

Pray that the site would become a real hub for gospel ministry in our region for generations to come.

Get Involved!

Landcare

We need to do some vegetation management on our land.

Are you interested in being part of the Land Care Team?

SKILLS

Do you have any professional skills you're prepared to donate to CoastEC?

Fundraising

We’re not sure exactly how much it will cost but it may be somewhere between 4-6 million dollars (there are lots of different factors involved here).

We’ll probably also need to take out a loan to cover any shortfall in our fundraising.

Do you have any suggestions for how to raise considerable funds for construction?

Are you interested in being part of a Fundraising Team?

Can you give a one-off donation, or start giving monthly to help us demonstrate our ability to service a loan? (Details here)