The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/604650
Finding Out Where We Are Going T his article will discuss the current status and future plans for our West Main Street headquarters property. The dates and dollars mentioned are approximate. How Did We Get Here? We started out with a head- quarters in Washington, D.C., but sold it and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where we bought the property on Fourth Street. Then we realized that our Fourth Street property was not sufficient for our needs, particularly our library, so we bought a lot across from our HQ on Fifth Street. We tore down several structures on the property, had plans drawn up for a new library and even raised money for the new building. Then in 2008 we decided we wanted to buy a vacant building on West Main Street and renovate it for a new headquarters, library and a museum. It was felt that the traffic in that area of Louisville would bring a lot of foot activity to our library and museum, thus giving us the opportunity to spread the word about the SAR and the American Revolution. The Fourth and Fifth Street properties were both put up for sale and two adjacent properties on West Main Street were purchased. An architect and a contractor were retained and plans were approved. The SAR Genealogical Library was completed first and the grand opening was held in 2010. Fundraising continued for the headquarters and it was sufficiently completed to allow staff to move in 2013. Both the Fourth and Fifth Street properties were sold. At the 2014 Congress in Greenville, South Carolina, the delegates voted unanimously to spend $549,000 to hire Solid Light Inc., from Louisville to design our museum. Where Are We Now? We have a beautiful genealogical library and we have completed construction on roughly a third of the headquarters building. This includes most of the offices on the second floor, the conference room and bathrooms. Still to be completed are upgrades to the electrical system, the basement education center, the balance of the second-floor offices, catering kitchen, meeting area, a second elevator and the roof garden. The estimated cost to complete the electrical upgrades, the balance of the second floor and the roof garden is about $1.3 million. We do not have an estimate for the basement education center because we do not know what will be included yet. We still owe a little more than $1.2 million on a loan we had to take out to finish the construction of the part of the building we have already occupied. Solid Light has been working on the design plan and the Trustees reviewed their work at the Fall Trustees Meeting. They are currently working on the final design, which will be presented to the Trustees for approval at the Spring Trustees Meeting. Where Do We Go Next? To build out the balance of the second floor and pay off the loan will cost about $2.5 million. We do not know how much the basement will cost, but if we want to put in a studio to produce our own videos, plus have classroom and theater areas, it could get expensive. We also do not know how much it will cost to build out the museum (think interactive exhibit instead of static displays). Once we approve the Solid Light design they will be able to give us accurate figures to complete construction. The construction costs are dependent on the design. More technology is more expensive, but that is FALL 2015 3 Continued on page 5 President General Thomas E. Lawrence, seated left, was joined by nine other Presidents General during the Fall Leadership Meeting in Louisville. Seated, from left, William C. Gist (1995-96), Lindsey C. Brock (2014-15); standing, from left, Stephen A. Leishman (2012-13), Nathan E. White Jr. (2006-07), David N. Appleby (2008-09), Joseph W. Dooley (2013-14), Edward F. Butler Sr. (2009-10), J. David Sympson (2010-11) and Bruce A. Wilcox (2007-08).