Building a brighter future: New Glory Hall reaches skyward

The Glory Hall is forging ahead on the construction of its new home, with rapid progress being made on the structure, Glory Hall’s executive director said.

“We are building this thing, and it looks like we’re making a lot more progress than expected,” Mariya Lovishchuk said in a phone interview. “It looks like we’re going to have a roof on it by the end of the year.”

The general contractor on the project, Carver Construction, broke ground on the project in late October, said Bruce Denton, the Glory Hall board’s vice president. The intention is to have the project completed by summer of 2021, Denton said. The new Glory Hall will neighbor the Southeast Community Services Campus when it’s constructed. The campus will bring a number of social service organizations together under one roof to increase efficiency of assistance and resource usage.

“We had a good contractor, and he hit it hard. We just proceeded as though the weather was never going to cooperate,” Denton said in a phone interview. “We don’t want to get shut down during the winter. The need is pretty acute.”

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The needs of the Glory Hall, especially with considerations for the coronavirus in place, are more than the current property is able to handle, Denton said.

“We have a schedule from the contractor, and he’s thinking late June for occupancy,” Denton said. “Time is of the essence. We have an untenable situation downtown.”

Long-term considerations, such as space and onsite storage capacity, as well as having property for clients to spread out on that wasn’t public land, all make the current South Franklin Street location less than ideal, Denton said. Right now, Lovishchuk said, they’re working to get the roof of the new structure in place so they can work on the interior.

“There’s quite a lot of stuff to do on the inside. We also have to do the siding,” Lovishchuk said. “Once the roof is on, there’s no weather that can stop us.”

Once the foundation of the building was set, Denton said, the focus became getting the sides poured.

“It’s an insulated concrete form system. It’s almost like LEGOs, putting these things together,” Denton said. “It’s a great system for the winter, because you can pour in the concrete. The key is keeping it heated long enough for it to cure where it’s safe.”

While most of the money has already been raised, the Glory Hall is applying for grants and looking for donations to wrap up loose ends on the structure right now.

“We have asks going out to some of the bigger donors. And we have our big community push to raise money right now. We’re really looking good,” Lovishchuk said. “People can definitely donate through the new Glory Hall website. We’re not asking people for any donations towards operating funds this year. It’s all going towards the building.”

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.