255 North Third Work Updates

Work is back on track in 255.  Here's IMPACT! Missions latest call for volunteers.  They are looking for workers this week on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-3, and this coming Saturday, Nov 1!

Hi Columbia team,

 

We can have greenshirts available Tuesday and Thursday this week form 9-3.  Please respond to this e-mail when/if you can work on either Tuesday or Thursday.  This coming Saturday will be a big work day.  We will have a lift in front of the property and we will be starting the front work with painting, and porch work.  This will be an important first step for this project since the work will be very visible to the neighborhood.  Please come out and help us start the Columbia third street improvement project.

 

It is important for IMPACT! Missions to have feedback on everybody's availability so we can plan for both resources and material delivery.

 

Again, if these dates are not working for the group as a whole, please provide feedback to days and times.

 

We are very excited to start working with you.

 

 Thank you,

 

Matthew Beakes
Executive Director - IMPACT! Missions
Address: 118 West Willow Road
Willow Street,  PA, 17584
Phone: (717) 823-7962
e-mail: mabeakes@impactcamps.org
http://www.impactcamps.org

If you can help, please email Matt with your availability as requested in his message.

September & October Updates

We haven’t been able to post any updates for a while, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening!

The Columbia HSC met on October 8^th and heard updates about three different branches of the project.

North Third Street at Sunrise

First, the 3P Working Group talked about the progress they have made putting together a façade improvement program for North Third Street.  The 3P (Porches, Plantings, Paint) Group includes six residents from North Third and LHOP representatives.  The idea is to have LHOP money available in the form of low interest loans.  The loans can be used to repair and restore the facades of the houses along North Third. 

The HSC spent a long time discussing the nuts and bolts of the program and the best balance between loan rates, payback periods, and size of the loans.  We want to make sure the loans are useful to people, but also that money cycles back into the program within a reasonable period of time.  As loan payments are made to LHOP, the funds can be sent back into the community as more loans.   The 3P Working Group is taking this feedback and getting a final draft ready for the November HSC meeting.  A smaller group is also looking at how to create a pre-qualified contractors list.

Second,  it was shared with the group that Colonial Metals will be redoing the facades of the three houses it owns in the 500 block.  A long term goal of the group was also discussed.  The plan is to seek out grant funding in 2015 to do major streetscape improvements along North Third Street.  The project would be based on some of the initial suggestions worked up by Doug Phillips.  Also, a survey team from Millersville University will be in the 500 block soon, filling out the forms that were done earlier for the 200, 300, and 400 blocks.

Lastly, 255 North Third Street is gutted and nearly ready for interior work to begin.  A regular work schedule will be set up for Mondays, Thursdays, and every other Saturday.  Once exact times are known, the information will be posted on Facebook.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to help out, please let us know on Facebook or by sending an email to ColaHSC@gmail.com!

Upcoming Events

Press Event at 255 North Third St

Please join us tomorrow, Tuesday, August 26th, at 5:00 PM, 

on the front porch of 255 North Third Street.

Folks from the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership and Columbia Borough 

will say a few words and we'll get this project officially kicked-off!

Save the Date - September 6th - Work Rally

Have you been following this project?  Are you interested in helping out?  Please plan to join us

September 6, 2014 

at 255 North Third Street

We'll have more details later, but for now, save the date!  

All skill levels welcome.

Calling All Hands!

The time has come for work to begin on 255 North Third Street!

Impact!Missions is looking for helping hands of all skill levels and also welcomes donations of materials.

We have a lot of good things planned for this house:

• a gorgeous face lift for the exterior
• overhauls of the heating/cooling, electrical, and plumbing systems 
• changes to the second floor's layout 
• a functioning bathroom
• a kitchen remodel
• and tons of smaller projects

Which comes out to a lot of added safety and comfort!

And of course, a great deal of demolition work is needed right up front.  If you like smashing things, this part is for you!

Volunteer labor and materials are what makes this project work, please consider helping in any way you are able.  It doesn't matter whether you are an experienced remodeler, a weekend warrior, or haven't picked up a paint brush before, we can put you to work.

If you are interested, please send an email to our volunteer coordinator Justin Evans at ColaHSC@gmail.com, and we'll be in touch with  more information!

July Updates!

We are happy to announce, along with our partners, the acquisition of 255 North Third Street!  Work will begin on the exterior sometime in the next 3-4 weeks.

 

Please keep your eyes and ears open in the coming weeks for opportunities to volunteer.  This is a big project and the house is going to need all of the help it can get!  

In other news, the neighborhood survey done by Millersville University is complete, and results have been shared with us.  Millersville staff and students talked to half of the households in the 200, 300, & 400 blocks of North Third Street.  This is a fantastic response rate and we have a lot of great information to work with now.

Members of the HSC have been discussing our project with Colonial Metals since the beginning, and it looks like tons of good things will spin out from this partnership, too!

Our next step is to kickstart a neighborhood group.  A big key to our success is getting more residents involved with this project and communicating with each other.  Because ultimately, we want to turn over what we're doing to a group based in North Third and begin again in a new part of Columbia!