THE COSTS SHOWN ARE RANGE-ESTIMATES and are generally to be considered the MATCHING FUNDS for grants with organizations such as THE NATIONAL FUND FOR SACRED SPACES, which requires 2:1 matching for grants up to $2M.
Because St. Michael’s church remains, and intends to remain a place of faith in God, while it is an historic heritage site, the facility itself is not eligible for public funding in the State of New Jersey and must raise all funds supporting the structure or facilities shared with the parish (such as restroom conversions, cabinetry or atmospheric controls for its manuscripts) from private sources.
Items F8 and F9 are actual estimates of work to be in progress in the fall of 2024, but still requiring financing.
Item F10 describes the removal of the wheelchair ramp immediately adjacent to the David Brearley family complex of graves. A fully ADA-compliant entrance will be completed on the Northeast corner of the Parish House which will allow direct wheelchair access to the 1st and 2nd floors with an elevator. In compliance with 36CFR60 standards for architectural modifications the modern addition will not be visible from the street and will clearly be a modern adjunct to the turn-of-the-century Parish House, which, unlike the main sanctuary has not been singled out as an architecturally historic structure.
Item F12 is for preliminary work, only. (picture of the foundations holding up the sanctuary can be seen here). Much of the foundation work will require archeological efforts preliminary to the actual engineering.
St. Michael’s has previously not been eligible for support from the National Fund for Sacred Spaces because it did not have any in-place fund-raising capacity, either through a congregation or an external source. The current effort underway comes as a direct result of recommendations by The Fund.