Alterations to continue through to new year
By: Stephanie Brown
JAMESBURG Improvements to the Presbyterian Church of Jamesburg will continue throughout December, despite hope that construction would be completed in time for the holidays.
"We were hoping to be finished by the end of November, but construction just takes time," the Rev. Gary Filson said Wednesday. "Sometimes things just happen."
The church, which has about 300 members, is in the final stages of a renovation project that includes a 12,000-square-foot, three-story addition. The project costs about $1.5 million, and also includes the expansion of the social hall kitchen and foyer and the expansion and resurfacing of the parking lot adjacent to Gatzmer Avenue.
A loan, fundraisers, donations and bequests are funding the project.
The expansion project, which began almost two years ago, should be completed by the end of January.
"At that time, the church should be in move-in condition," said Frank Moschella Sr., a member of the church’s construction committee.
Mr. Moschella said the hold-up is due to the scale of the project and delays caused by project coordination.
"Murphy’s law was alive and well for us," he said.
Once construction started, he said other projects cropped up.
"We ran into a number of things that came up afterwards," he said. "We thought the foundation was sound enough, but we had to completely redo sections of foundation and that was an expense we weren’t expecting. When you’re working with historic buildings those things happen."
Also, Mr. Moschella said coordinating contractors could sometimes cause periods of down time.
"It just takes time," he said "Little delays between contractors is probably the most difficult part of the whole project. And sometimes it’s tough. For instance, when we ask for the electrician to come in, he may be doing another job. You end up having a lull for a few days before he can come in. He can’t just drop some other job and come here."
The expansion is part of a larger renovation project that began in 2002. It included improvements to the social hall and the demolition of the previous, smaller addition.
The renovations were initiated for a number of reasons, namely to gain more space for the church’s Christian education programs and to bring the facility up to date with American Disability Association standards, Mr. Moschella said.
The original 8,000-square-foot building didn’t leave much space for the church’s youth and adult groups, Sunday school classes, and Deacon s Food Cupboard. Nor was it accommodating for local organizations, like the Boy Scouts, that use the church facilities.
In addition, since the building was built originally in 1854 and the last time it was renovated was in 1930s, officials said it was not up to modern building code standards.
Mr. Moschella said the new addition will be used for many purposes. It will house the church’s office, which is currently in a separate building on Gatzmer Avenue, a modern kitchen, music room, nursery, conference room and seven classrooms. He said the food cupboard will most likely be housed in the church’s office building once it is vacated.
The lower level also has seven classrooms, and two additional rooms, which Mr. Moschella said could be used for a nurse’s office and administrative office. Mr. Moschella said the church is planning to rent out the lower level, most likely to a day care.
Each of the three floors will be handicapped accessible and have men’s and women’s bathrooms, which will be handicapped accessible.
Once the renovations are finished, the Rev. Filson said there will be an open house and rededication ceremony. Presently, he said, it is too early to set a definite date.

