The Power of Pausing
The Power of Pausing 3
The title of this piece is a bit “on the nose” at the moment. I had already scheduled a specific series of articles and topics to be published this week, however, the activity of the last 48 hours - including great new questions, comments of support and affirmation, and emails with concerns - has me recalibrating some of the content for the next few days. Not to worry, I will get to the topics I originally itemized, but this experience has brought forward some reflection on the non-linear path of this project to conclusion. What we have today as a project plan looks very different from what we discussed some years ago. And that is a good thing, because I would dare say that those who have been involved in the project believe it answers our needs far better than those first few concept drawings and proposals.
The ability to stop, take stock, seek helpful consultation, and then decide on something is a gift. It is also a necessity, especially as new information or challenges arise during the course of decision making. This project was shaped through numerous starts and stalls - most noticeably, the pandemic which put a chill through most people’s original excitement about the project. The uncertainty of the moment took hold and the project paused to reconsider.
Back in 2019, the CSCE had already invested deeply in a master plan for the secondary campus, projected a cost for all the possible renovations and additions (about $24 million), executed a feasibility study, and reported back to society on its findings. In short, there was significant support for the project and an initial assessment suggested we could raise up to $4 million in support. In response, the total campus plan was broken into “phases”, each to be completed based on its priority of need, and in line with financing and fundraising abilities. We had even put out an ad to hire a director of development to initiate a $3 million campaign for Phase I - which included a new gym and weight room, plus two classrooms or science labs.
The arrival of Covid shuttered the school and businesses and also took the project off the front burner of activities. Pandemic time focus was effective delivery of learning to at home students and ensuring families were financially supported through the period of economic downturn.
This was the BIG PAUSE. Not a STOP, but a moment to assess how to move forward in spite of obvious challenges. The Board and planning committee were resolute in their determination to keep this ball rolling. (what better time to renovate a school than when students are not physically in it?) By late 2020, a plan was developed suggesting we could renovate an existing space into a high school science lab - which we did. At the same time, we stepped back and explored less expensive possibilities to build the gymnasium. As some of you will recall, we had looked at bricks and mortar, steel frame, and even a SPRUNG structure - a large, tensioned canopy style building. It was during the review of the latter structure that new thinking emerged, allowing us to see that by consolidating all physical and athletic activities out of the existing building, we would create cost effective opportunities to increase classroom space (Exactly - by renovating the old gym).
Which leads us back to the present.
It’s been no short or easy process. Looking back, it is obvious that the forced pause of the pandemic and subsequent thinking on design has helped us arrive at a more comprehensive and effectiv facility solution.
So, too, with my articles. Questions on finance, operations, the performing arts, and other related topics need to be woven into the fabric of these last few articles. This “holding article” is here to allow me to do that better…only as a pause and thoughtful reflection can.
When we pick up tomorrow, I’ll get back to the other topics pending, including how we can and will afford this project and design decisions that make a difference (spoiler alert: the public washrooms will be gender specific on both floors!) In the meantime, if you’d like to read more on the building, the decision process, and the journey of ideas we followed to get here, please check out the previous edition of CONNECT Magazine on our CCS website and Faithfulness Campaign page (CCS Project Slideshow, CONNECT Winter 2023, etc).
Blessings.
