Jon Leight, musical director for St. Luke’s Church in North Wales, speaks to residents and church members during an organ performance in January 2023.
Work on a long-planned renovation of a former church and office building in North Wales could start within weeks.
“We’re hoping to see some construction start in October,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.
The former church and adjacent offices at 125 North Main Street have been discussed since late 2016, when council bought both as the church faced declining membership and growing maintenance costs. Since then, the office space has been rented for art classes and use by local nonprofits, and the church area hosted several public concerts after the St. Luke’s United Church of Christ congregation held their final services there in April 2022.
That month, council started talks on a project to renovate and update both buildings, including upgraded HVAC systems, widened doors, natural gas heat instead of oil, and conversion into flexible space for shared use by local nonprofits or agencies, creating spaces to provide services in a local setting during emergencies like the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. "
Two grants were secured in July and October 2022 respectively, in September of that year the town hired outside consultant CM3 Building Solutions as an energy services company to oversee and detail the energy efficiency portions of the project, and in June 2023 council awarded a $2.7 million contract for CM3 to oversee the renovations and energy upgrades for a project expected to run through 2024.
At that time, CM3 presented a series of renderings showing what the 1908-vintage church and 1974 office addition could look like after renovations, with classrooms, office and storage space being converted into a banquet hall and accessible restrooms and facilities. A new chair lift would be added near the main staircase, energy-efficient LED lighting would be installed to cut down on utility bills, and wiring throughout both buildings would be replaced to allow for future upgrades; the roughly $2.7 million project would largely be covered by $2.2 million from the two grants and an additional $500,000 from a 2020 borough borrowing.
Council voted in August to grant roughly $33,000 in waivers for permit costs related to the project, and Hart gave an update Tuesday night on new developments since that vote. A pre-construction meeting has been held with CM3 and their project general contractor, materials have been ordered, and passersby may see a new addition at the church itself.
“We did erect the sign, that’s required from the funding: you’ll see that there’s a very big sign in front of 125 N. Main Street that talks about the project and the vendors involved,” Hart said.
The project’s architect is currently working on finalizing details, and staff will keep council’s buildings and ground committee updated on new developments, according to the manager.
North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street. For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.
See also:
Montgomery Township Board of Supervisors Adopts Single-Use Plastic Reduction Ordinance
Towamencin Supervisors Vote Down Sewer Sale Mailer
Upper Gwynedd’s Pennbrook Parkway Debate Continues, with Eyes on Lansdale
Lansdale Police Say Mental Health Co-Responder Already Seeing Results
North Wales Borough Adopts New Zoning Map
