REDEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Sandy Springs United Methodist Church | Facilities Review and Planning Timeline
Updated April 15, 2024
July 2020: Results of SSUMC community visioning process are compiled. A team of church members identified a wide variety of community members and asked three questions about the church’s role in the community, and outsider impressions. Overall sentiment was that SSUMC was a recognizable church and in a prime location, it didn’t play the intergral role in the community its location would suggest.
August 2020: Members of the SSUMC congregation were gathered for a three-night visioning session over Zoom. They examined the life-cycle of the church and trends related to attendance, membership giving, finances and facilities. Through this work, we crafted a Vision: We are a wellspring of love and hospitality. We seek to impact our neighbors by building life-changing relationships, nurturing spiritual growth, and fostering service through impactful partnerships.
September 2020: Sandy Springs UMC Council Participates in a strategic ministry planning retreat. A goal that emerges from this retreat is related to facilities, and a review that will ensure they are living into our new vision.
October 2020: Council adopts two goals for 2021 tied to operational sustainability.
By July 2021, a team of 3-5 people will present a 5-year plan for Operational Sustainability to the Church Council. One component of this plan is a complete inventory of all facilities and assets for SSUMC with a project list of needed improvements and estimated costs for each facility. This information may be acquired by employing the services of a building auditor/commercial building inspector. Additionally, this team will perform a complete budget analysis and suggestions for clarity in financial documents in order to align ministry resources, personnel and facilities with our newly discerned vision.
An exploration team will be created to explore at least three options for leveraging the value of Church-owned real estate to fully live into our newly discerned vision.
January 2021: Exploration Team is formed and starts work in January. Board approves staff recommendation to engage Partner Engineering and science to conduct a facilities audit. The review covers church structural systems, roofs (except the AC), HVAC, plumbing (except in-wall) and lighting. The Facility Condition Analysis report will also address aging and repair issues to parking lots, sidewalks, exterior lighting and visible drainage systems.
February 2021: Exploration team meets with other churches across the country who have asked similar questions about facility needs and improvements. Team also met with Chip Collins who gave perspective on the needs of the community.
April 2021: The council votes to engage Mike Bonem to review SSUMC’s operational sustainability and submit a report. The goal is to have an outside agent review and conduct a financial analysis and projections for 2021-2024, with key observations and alternate scenarios, in addition to recommendations to move the church toward financial sustainability. Also takes into account forthcoming engineering study.
May 2021: Council approves “highest and best use” study of facilities, based on recommendations from the exploration team. Haddow & Company, who has worked previously with the North Georgia Conference and numerous other non-profits is engaged to do this work, with the goal of gaining an understanding on the property’s highest and best use, achievable value, and an optimal investment/disposition strategy.
May 2021: Facilities report is completed and shows that SSUMC has $1,032,045 in immediate needs and deferred maintenance. Advice is to address these at first practical opportunity to avoid increased remedial costs. In addition, the report identities $1.2 million in capital needs over the next 10 years. (Contact Emily if you would like a copy of the report).
June 2021: Council presented with operational sustainability recommendations from Mike Bonem. The results show the activity center operating at a loss, even if it returns to pre-pandemic operation levels. That’s in part due to the facility overhead, including janitorial, finance, staffing needs and maintenance needs. The report challenged SSUMC to think about whether the AC is a viable and vital part of the ministry vision of SSUMC, and what it would look like if the facility was reinvented or used differently. Other items of note:
This does not mean that SSUMC will be sustainable without the AC. Nor does it mean the AC is unable to generate a surplus or that these programs should be closed down. This adjusted case simply presents a more accurate starting point to consider SSUMC’s options for financial, operational, and ministry sustainability.
Adjustments in pricing and expansion in programming could bring the Activities Center closer to a financial break-even.
One thing is very clear about the AC’s financial picture: operating on a limited basis will make the bottom line worse. The facility and overhead costs for the AC . . . are largely fixed.
Chart 1 (below) was provided to help SSUMC answer the question of the role the AC could/should play in the church. It shows the likelihood that various externally-oriented activities will move participants toward involvement in the spiritual life of a typical church.
July 2021: “Highest and best use” study shared with Exploration Team. Its key findings state that the sanctuary and education building are too large for the church’s needs going forward, and the activity center, while in relatively good condition, is underutilized. Because of city development rules, a townhome development or senior living facility could be the most attractive option for potential developers looking to take advantage of the desirable location. The report recommended selling a portion of the land and renting the gym and other areas to establish a recurring revenue stream. (Full report available upon request).
July 2021: Lawyer asked to review property tax and conveyance records related to SSUMC to clarify information of how the property can be used. Opinion states that based on “reverter clause” from the original deed, the title to the church’s North Campus property is unmarketable and could not be sold from the church’s name.
August 2021: Council holds town hall; reviews 2021 goals and shares results from facility report and Bonem report.
September 2021: Council engages with Northside Youth Organization (NYO) to run sports program out of our gym. This follows a short engagement with the YMCA, who stepped in post-pandemic. Council engaged outside organizations to run programs following several disruptive COVID seasons, the departure of our activities director and findings from research related to the operations of the Activities Center.
October 2021: Church Council retreat; sets goals for property based on info from reports. Goal:
To implement a strategy to move forward on the future of the South Campus, including the Activity Center through: presenting rationale and options to the congregation; surveying the congregation for feedback on potential paths forward; sharing results from surveys and findings from consultant reports; devising plan by May 2022 for approval
November 2021: Town Hall. Council shares 2022 goals with attendees and takes questions.
December 2021: Council learns of a North Carolina group called Wesley Community Development, a nonprofit real estate firm that specializes in helping churches reimagine their footprint to live into their mission. Wesley and the North Georgia Conference were discussing setting up a similar model in Metro Atlanta to help churches reimagine their facilities space. Richard Hunter from the Conference visits SSUMC and believes we would be a good candidate for Wesley CDC’s work.
February 2022: Wesley CDC visits area churches and chooses SSUMC as the one church to work with in North Georgia. This was based in part on past work and research related to facilities, and council/the congregation’s interest in addressing this space.
March 2022: Church council votes to go with Wesley CDC; pivots from providing options by May to working with Wesley. Transition team created, including a cross-section of the congregation along with several council members.
April 2022: Transition team meets with Foundry, a communications consultant, to develop survey for congregational input. All church data requested by Wesley provided for their review and analysis.
May 2022: Wesley architect visits SSUMC and takes measurements of all spaces. Transition Team meets with Wesley to review Wesley's findings on church space usage and current financial situation. Survey administered to the congregation and initial results reviewed by the council.
June 2022: Wesley CDC Staff visited Sandy Springs and met with community stakeholders, the city, and your Transition Team. Their recomendations were presented to the Transition team, who convened separately and discerned next step for congregation.
July 2022: Transition Team and Church Council met for a session to continue visioning, and plan the focus groups and town hall for August in order to receive congregational input and feedback.
August 2022: Eight Focus Groups and a Town Hall were held, facilitated by members of the Transition Team, Council, and Wesley CDC, to provide a forum for questions and concerns regarding the potential process for releasing a Request for Proposals. Given all the information, church constituents overwhelmingly expressed positivity relating to release of the RFP. On August 16, the Church Council voted 9-0 in favor of releasing the RFP.
September 2022: RFP for the South Campus has been released. The Church Council and Transition Team met with Richard Hunter, Associate Director of the Center for Congregational Excellence of the North Georgia Conference, to get his perspective from his extensive experience with church redevelopment. Dr. Hunter first connected SSUMC with Wesley Community Development and has been integral to our partnership.
October 2022: Wesley CDC representatives joined the Church Council's annual retreat and provided an update on the RFP process for the South Campus, which was proceeding as planned. Some high-level ideas for potential redevelopment of the North Campus were also shared. Wesley CDC then met with the Transition Team to share their latest updates.
November 2022: The Transition Team and Church council met for a revisioning session to continue discerning key priorities for the North Campus. The Church Council had extensive discussions on the path forward for the preschool, and the difficult decision was made to pause the preschool at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 school year due to the potential changes coming to the South Campus.
December 2022: Mike Hadlow agreed to lead the Transition Team for 2023. Wesley CDC received a strong response to the RFP. Due to concerns about the confidentiality of the bid process, the decision was made to limit the proposal review process to the 2023 Church Council under a non-disclosure agreement.
January 2023: Church Council met with Wesley CDC to review the bids. One bid was unanimously agreed upon by the Council for the recommendation for a church conference vote. Small group discussions will be scheduled in advance of the vote, which will take place on Sunday, February 5.
February 2023: Small group discussions regarding the South Campus property proposal were held February 1-4. Church conference vote was held on Sunday, February 5. Motion to authorize the SSUMC Church Council to pursue the sale of the South Campus passed 80-4, with 2 abstentions.
March 2023: Purchase and Sale Agreement for the South Campus under development. The congregation completed a Readiness 360 visioning survey to help with the process of reimagining the church. Several small group sessions and one large group session of visioning for the North Campus were held March 25-26, facilitated by Paul Nixon from the Epicenter Group.
April 2023: Purchase and Sale Agreement for the South Campus under negotiation. Initial results from Readiness 360 survey under review by the Church Council.
May 2023: Purchase and Sale Agreement for the South Campus signed. Observations and a full report from Paul Nixon and the Readiness 360 survey were made available to the congregation. The process of discerning design priorities for the North Campus started.
June 2023: South Campus developer working with vendors to plan out dates for due diligence tasks. A meeting was held with a representative from Cornel Zimmer Organ Company to discuss the sanctuary pipe organ. A meeting held with Solidarity Sandy Springs to discuss their future vision.
July 2023: Wesley CDC planning to meet with the SSUMC Council in person in September/October timeframe. Council continues to work on strategic planning for the North Campus.
August 2023: The organ task force met with the organist at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to hear and to learn about their sanctuary digital organ.
September 2023: The City of Sandy Springs held a meeting to highlight proposed changes to the city's building code. These changes are desired by the developer to whom the South Campus is under contract. The code updates will be presented to the city council in December.
October 2023: THe Church Council held a North Campus planning session during its annual retreat, with the goal of reaching a consensus on major items that will affect North Campus development.
November 2023: The Sandy Springs City Council plans to consider building code updates during the council meeting on Dec. 5. The due diligence period for the South Campus contract is extended to Dec. 15. The visioning session with Paul Nixon on ministry design (which will inform North Campus building design) is scheduled for Dec. 9.
December 2023: The Sandy Springs City Council passes the building code updates desired by the developer for the South Campus. The due diligence period for South Campus is extended to March 14, 2024. The visioning session on ministry design was held with Paul Nixon, who provided a report to the Church Council. A follow-up discussion between the Church Council and Paul Nixon to create actionable items and timelines is scheduled for Jan. 24.
January 2024: A follow-up discussion with Paul Nixon was held on Jan. 24. One action from that discussion was the creation of a small group comprised of both Church Council and staff members to set short-term goals and priorities both for ministry and for the North Campus redevelopment. Zoning and permitting for the South Campus is currently planned to occur between March and September 2024, with closing projected in October 2024.
February 2024: At Paul Nixon's recommendation, SSUMC's Director of Community Connection attended a Fresh Expressions (FX) conference to learn about new forms of church designed to connect with people who are not yet part of any church. A Joint Church Council/staff team convened to work on short-term goals and priorities for ministry and property.
March 2024: The due diligence period for South Campus is extended to June 7, 2024, and due diligence work by the developer is underway. Closing on the South Campus is targeted for the first quarter of 2025. Zoning and permitting for the North Campus are expected to start soon. Demolition of the current North Campus is currently projected for late March 2025. Wesley CDC recommends forming a team to start working on high-level schematic options for the North Campus with an architect in June 2024.