Archdiocese of Atlanta

1. Archdiocese of Atlanta Large Capital Process – Steps 1 and 2 Step 1: Define and Review Project Step 2: Request First Approval

2. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) First, assemble a small project study team to determine parish needs and to define the facility project. When a need surfacesin the parish for a new building, renovation, or significant capital improvement, a representative number of people with varying skills and knowledge of different aspects of the parish should be consulted. Specific skills and experience may be desirable and sought but of critical importance for some members is an understanding and connection with the parish ministry life. Parish knowledge and relationships will be instrumental in assessing parishioner priorities and support and in communicating project understanding. Experience that spans various age groups will also be beneficial in connecting with a broad base of parishioners. The parish team should include a mix of lay people and parish staff in consultation with the Pastor. It is important that committees be limited to a manageable size (5-7) with subcommittees formed as needed to perform task execution. Core committee representatives should be in place for the duration of a project whereas the subcommittees may be formed for a specific purpose for a limited time. Commitment on the core committees could be for an extended period of time; a year or more depending on the size and nature of the project. It is important that all understand the need for such an extended commitment of time to ensure continuity of decision making and preservation of the project’s knowledge base. Click to open Parish Team Formation Guidelines.

3. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Second, gather and analyze data needed to define the current and future facility needs of the parish • Once the team is established, they should define the facilities’ needs based on the parish’s overall pastoral plans and objectives to improve overall parish spiritual life. To assist in this lengthy but important process, we have provided several supporting documents.  • Defining Project Objectives helps you better understand your parish’s facilities’ needs based on typical parish facilities. • “Rules of Thumb”* developed by LifeWay Christian Resources (a Baptist organization that generously shared it with us) helps with typical metrics and sizing for church facilities.  *Remember that Baptist churches typically share one service on the weekend for all members to attend. • Geo-demographic Analysis and Parish Reports aid in revealing the demographic breakdown of Catholics in the area as well as understanding growth in the Zip Codes of families that are registered in your parish. • Sanctuary Seating Capacity Survey results can aid in understanding the number of sanctuary seats that a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Atlanta has available per family to meet their weekend masses. • All of these tools should be used along with the parish’s plans to identify and prioritize the most important facilities’ needs and projects, plus provide some sense of sizing for the type of project.

4. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Third, update your parish facilities master plan Ideally, every parish should develop a facilities master plan for its current property and whenever it considers buying land for use by the parish. This is the best way to ensure that the property will meet the future as well as current needs of the parish. Developing a parish facilities’ master plan typically requires the use of architectural professionals. If a parish master plan exists, then the project team should determine whether the proposed new project is included in the master plan. If it is not shown on the master plan or if the size or location of the new project vary substantially from the master plan, then the project team should review the project with their architect to ensure the overall viability of the project and the master plan. If no facilities master plan exists, the project team should consider engaging an architect to develop a master plan for parish property before moving ahead with the current project . A Parish Pastoral Plan would also be helpful at this stage for guiding the update of the Facilities’ Master Plan. For an introduction to the Parish Pastoral Planning Process, please refer to Slides # 4 & 5 in the Master Planning Process Overview PowerPoint deck.

5. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Fourth, estimate the cost of the proposed project • After identifying the key facility needs and goals of the Parish, it is important to assess the feasibility of the desired project. • To get the initial rough estimate of your building costs, please use the CCSI Cost Estimator.  • GENERALIZED FORMULA FOR CALCULATING THE COST OF A PROJECT • 1) Take Desired Square Footage • 2) TIMES (X) Matriculation / Mechanical Space Multiplier • 3) TIMES (X) Unit Cost • 4) TIMES (X) Site work Multiplier • 5) TIMES (X) Construction Contingency Multiplier • 6) TIMES (X) Soft Costs Multiplier • This is a step by step budgeter based on the number of people to accommodate and the type of building. The CCSI Cost Estimator accounts for soft costs.  However, you may refer to the Potential Soft Costs list to see what’s commonly included. • To further understand the potential financial implications, the parish may review historical projects to see past budgets, designs, time lines and issues for similar types of buildings and facilities. The Historical CCSI Building Costs Examples provides examples of past building costs in the Archdiocese for seven types of projects. • With this information, you can develop a “back of the envelope” estimate of total project costs.

6. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Fifth, estimate the financial capacity for the project Luke 14: 28-30 “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'” The parish also must understand its own financial needs and limitations. The parish should develop historical income and expense estimates to gauge its financial capacity using the Financial Assessment Tool. This tool aids in providing a high level view of the parish’s financial capacity as well as providing a low risk and high risk range of potential dollars for a large capital project. The Geo-demographic Analysis and Parish Reports provide average income statistics for all residents of particular zip codes as well as other pertinent demographic information.  Also, while considering a new project, a parish should review its current major maintenance needs and set aside savings to cover these capital maintenance requirements. The Capital Maintenance Inspection Questionnaire can aid in identifying these smaller projects. The parish can then evaluate if the “back of the envelope” estimate of total project costs fits within the low to high risk estimate of potential project funding. If the estimated project cost exceeds the parish’s financial capability, then the project team should consider reworking the project to match the parish finances.

7. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Sixth, secure parish support for the project • It is critical to secure and confirm parish support for the project. The project team will need to meet with key stakeholders within the parish family to review the need for the project, the initial concept and estimated cost of the facility, and the financial capacity of the parish. The Project Case Template should be completed, approved by the pastor and then reviewed with each stakeholder. • The Confirmation of Parish Support form documents the parish support for the project. The following are required “touch points” for the project: • Pastor • Finance Council • Pastoral/Parish Council (if exists) • Business manager / Administrator • Staff (Facilities / Education) • Ministry Coordinator • Key Donor Support

8. Step 1 – Define and Review Project Step 1 • Form project team • Define parish needs and goals • Update parish master plan • Estimate rough project cost • Determine financial capacity • Secure parish support • Notify Deanery (if required) Seventh, review the project with Deanery members - if required Objective: Keep neighboring parishes informed about expansion projects in their region that add new capacity to the Deanery. Deanery Review is only required when a parish adds a new building or expands the seating capacity of its existing sanctuary. If your project requires Deanery Review, please send the Pastor approved Project Case Template to the Dean and to the other Pastors in the Deanery. The project should be discussed at a Deanery meeting and this discussion should be documented by the Dean using the Deanery Review Form. Deanery Review Matrix

9. Step 2 – Obtain Initial Conceptual Approval Step 2 • Cover letter from pastor • Project case template • Confirmation of parish support • Deanery review form (if required) • Financial assessment tool Request First Approval from the Archbishop No other step is to be taken, nor is any consultant (architect, engineer, planner, interior designer, etc.) to be retained, until the Pastor has received written approval and permission to proceed from the Archbishop. • The pastor is now ready to request First Approval from the Archbishop by preparing a cover letter and attaching the forms completed during Step 1: • Project case template • Confirmation of parish support • Deanery review form (if required) • Financial assessment tool • If the Archbishop agrees that the need exists and the capital improvement should be more fully investigated and planned, the Archbishop will respond to the Pastor in writing granting “Initial Conceptual Approval”. The letter will advise the Pastor to contact Catholic Construction Services (CCSI) for help with overall project cost and the financial feasibility of the proposed improvement. In addition, the letter may contain specific requirements to be met by the parish before work begins on the project. • Requests for First Approval / Initial Conceptual Approvalgenerally receive a reply within 7-10 days of receipt by the Archbishop’s Office. • Key points to include in the cover letter requesting First Approval: • Formal request for permission to engage design professionals • Type of project • General timing • Back of the envelope project cost

10. Overview of Large Capital Project Process Step 2 Step 1 • Review letter and forms • Grant initial conceptual approval to engage design professionals and/or a capital campaign consultant Request First Approval: InitialConceptual Approval Define and Review Project Step 3 Step 4 • CCSI to present Preliminary Drawings to the Archbishop • Review letter and forms • Grant approval to: • Kick-off capital campaign • Obtain detailed drawings and cost estimate Develop Preliminary Design Request Second Approval: Approval for Capital Campaign and Detailed Drawings Step 5 Step 7 Secure Financing • Review letter and forms • Grant approval to begin construction Request Final Approval: Build Approval Step 6 Finalize Design Step 8 Construction Management Step 9 Acceptance and Dedication

11. Who Do You Call? • Peter Faletti, Director of Planning and Facilities • Work phone • (680): 404-885-7279 • (Lake Park): 404-920-7855 • Cell phone: 404-915-3785 • Email: pfaletti@archatl.com • Jenny Scheb, Planning Analyst • Work phone: • (680): 404-885-7410 • (Lake Park): 404-920-7852 • Email: jscheb@archatl.com • http://www.archatl.com/offices/construction/