Our First Grant and What It Means for the Granite Church

Hi! I’m Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock, and I am a historic preservation specialist. Part of my job is working with owners of historic buildings to help make preservation and, oftentimes, restoration a financially feasible possibility. It is difficult to be a steward of a historic structure, especially as an individual homeowner, but there are options to help make the potential financial burden of historic structure stewardship easier, especially if the owner is a non-profit foundation.

BeFoundation purchased the Granite Church in 2022 and, when doing so, sought an abbreviated form of assessment. They hired two different firms to assess potential issues with the external walls (the building envelope) and some of the more obvious issues internally which stemmed from water infiltration during large rain events. However, while some of these issues were addressed, it was important during these initial phases of planning to get a better understanding of some of the difficulties and building issues that might be faced down the line. As a result, we submitted an application to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for a Survey and Planning Grant.

The grant was approved! The Granite Church officially earned its first grant, which will help us continue the process of revitalizing this unique space for the community.

Survey and Planning Grants enable non-profits and municipalities to access monies that can aid in historic preservation and associated planning including National, State, or Local Historic Designations, Archaeological Preserves, historic structure reports, structural analyses, adaptive reuse studies, architectural plans, and, in the case of the Granite Church, conditions assessments.

To secure this grant, BeFoundation had to submit a Survey and Planning Grant application which detailed not only the history of the organization and supplied an overview of the Church’s history, but also outlined what needed to be done and why and how this would benefit both BeFoundation and users of the space. The grant requires a 1:1 match, so for the $20,000 awarded by SHPO, BeFoundation will match with a $20,000 investment of their own, to make a total of $40,000 for the project.

Once contracts were signed between BeFoundation and SHPO, we wrote a Request for Proposals (RFP) which we posted publicly and are using to solicit bids from at least three firms we were interested in hearing from specifically. The conditions assessment must be completed by a qualified architect or architectural firm and will be used to inform future construction plans. In particular, the bell tower and mortar need to be examined, as does the roof of the building which may need replacing. The conditions assessment will also provide an understanding of whether the structural system is intact and in good condition and give ideas for how best to maintain integrity while being conscious of how to restore the building to historic standards.

This grant and the subsequent conditions assessment will allow BeFoundation to make this space usable to its fullest potential for the community. It will help us understand its earlier history and construction, and provide valuable feedback on how best to alter the interior while preserving the historic character which adds so much charm to Georgetown.

SpreadMusicNow is Moving In!

From SpreadMusicNow:

SpreadMusicNow’s new home is at the Granite Church at 5 N Main Street in Redding, Connecticut. The town of Redding is where we were founded, and where we’ve had the opportunity to grow and thrive as an organization, and now we’re honored to join the burgeoning Georgetown neighborhood.

Being part of this unique space that will benefit the community is a gift that we will not take for granted.

The Granite Church will be a vibrant community resource available for many public and private events, including concerts, dances, speakers, plays, art exhibits; yoga and art classes; weddings, dinners, corporate events; and office rental or use of the lower level with community room.

The historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the Church is currently underway! Once renovations are completed, SpreadMusicNow will be able to host events. Learn more about the Granite Church project here.

SpreadMusicNow logoSpreadMusicNow at the Granite Church will focus its efforts on expanding our mission to support music education and creative youth development that promotes educational, career, and life success through music and arts programming.

Our mailing address remains unchanged. Please feel free to contact us at P.O. Box 1330 Redding, CT 06875.

Learn more about SpreadMusicNow here.

BeFoundation to Host Community Open House

Redding-based charity BeFoundation has purchased the former Georgetown Bible Church and has plans to convert the building into a community gathering and performing arts
space.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

Community Shares Ideas at Granite Church Open House

BeFoundation held an open house for the community at the former Georgetown Bible Church (also known as the “Granite Church”) in Georgetown on Sunday, November 20. Over 200 people attended throughout the day and enjoyed live music, food, and kids’ activities while also giving feedback on how the building should be used in the future as an arts and cultural center.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

BeFoundation Looks to Secure Public-Private Funding

Following its purchase of the historic “Granite Church” at 5 North Main Street in Georgetown, the Redding-based Be Foundation is now pursuing multiple sources of both public and private funding to renovate the building to create an arts and cultural center for the community.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

BeFoundation Purchases Historic Church in Redding, CT

Redding, CT-based BeFoundation announced its purchase of the historic Georgetown Bible Church at 5 N Main Street in Redding, CT. Originally known as the Gilbert Memorial Church, it was completed in 1902. The granite for the beautiful Church was quarried next door in Branchville under the direction of geologists from Yale University.

Built in the Gothic Revival Style, the magnificent structure with its stained glass, tower and bell, has stood the test of time and will continue to do so following needed renovations. The Church has many features found in larger churches built in this style at that time, including buttresses and pointed arch windows, a square main tower, and a round turret with a conical roof. To the rear of the church is a small cemetery containing the graves of Edwin and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Read more in the Redding Sentinel

December 2022: What’s New at the Granite Church in Georgetown?

From financial plans to community engagement, we’re thrilled about the progress being made to bring the Granite Church to life and to fulfill its promise as an art and cultural gathering space for our community. We’re busy on many fronts and are excited to share an update as we close out 2022.

Public-Private Partnership Proposed

In November, BeFoundation submitted a proposal for a partnership with the Town of Redding to redevelop the Granite Church. The proposal includes a draft five-year financial plan spanning the construction phase to operations phase. You can review the full proposal and financial plan here. You are invited to send your ideas or feedback about the financial plan and how the Granite Church should be used as a community gathering place and performing arts center to granitechurch@befoundation.org.

Building Restoration Progress

Restoring a historic building takes time and special consideration. Recently, we stabilized the roof for the winter and we are working actively to select our architectural and construction partners, who will help us bring our vision for the Granite Church to life while maintaining the building’s historic integrity. We are also researching the use of state historic restoration funds to see if that is the best way to help fund some of the restoration work we have planned.

Making Room for Art, Music and Dancing

Since we will need flexible seating to accommodate potentially two stages, one on each end of the space, and room for a possible dance floor, the existing pews will need to be removed and rehomed. Instead, we will be looking at seating that can be folded, stacked, and stored. This will provide more room for dancing and increased seating and standing capacity for events. If you have interest in the pews or ideas for their disposition, please contact granitechurch@befoundation.org.

November Open House a Success

We were happy to see so many long-time Georgetown residents at our open house on November 20. We received many excellent ideas for uses of the Church — from art circles and holiday concerts to speaker series and ballroom dancing. We look forward to bringing these ideas to life in partnership with the community.

Special thanks to the Georgetown Village Restoration for arranging local vendors and kids’ activities like cookie decorating and touch-a-fire-truck. It was a great day to share the Granite Church and great music with the community.

Temporary Performance Art Installation: Wall of Sound x2

SpreadMusicNow partner, Anthony Coscia, has built a half-scale replica of the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound. (And it sounds amazing!) Also on display is the quarter-scale replica used for the “Zappa Meets the Dead” show.

Coscia’s passion project, “Le Petit Mur De Son,” is dedicated to rebuilding the Grateful Dead’s legendary Wall of Sound from 1974. Each in this series of Walls will be increasing in size until the full-scale wall is completed. The goal at completion is to make the Wall available to venues and musicians so that music fans can experience The Wall of Sound as they would have nearly 50 years ago. For more information go to https://www.spreadmusicnow.org/anthony-coscia.

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