TAB A
Applicant’s Letter
May 16, 2013
Catholic Charities POP
Development Corporation
191 Joralemon Street, 2nd
Floor
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Attention David Downs
Dear Mr. Downs,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit our enclosed proposal for the
rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the former Our Lady of Loreto Church
building. We hope that upon review of our proposal, you will determine that our
team is most qualified to develop and rehabilitate this important project based
on the relevant experience of our developer supporters and the Nazareth
Christian Fellowship’s presence in the Brooklyn community.
Our Lady of Loreto Church is not just another New York City property. It
is a piece of history, a symbol of Italian-American heritage, a treasured
landmark, and it must be saved. I, as the senior pastor of the
Nazareth Christian Fellowship in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn, am willing
to do just that. As the senior pastor, I have already established a powerful
and growing following in the Brooklyn community. My spirit of service and
humility will benefit the surrounding neighborhood, while my passion for
education, finance and learned military discipline as a U.S. Veteran will
ensure a sustainable development plan for Loreto’s rehabilitation and growth.
As the chosen occupant / developer of the building, we will be willing to lease
the building for $12,000 a year after the first five years, with a cost of
living increase for every 5-year period thereafter. Also we will allow use of
the hall as requested in the proposal for Our Lady of the Presentation Church
at 1677 St. Mark’s Avenue.
This proposal is supported by Frank Sciame, former Chairman of the New York
Landmarks Conservancy, and President of his firm, Sciame Development,
Inc.; Charles Piazza, an Executive Director of NAI Global International
Real Estate and one of the leaders of the Campaign to Save Our Lady of Loreto
Church; Dominick “Donny” Mondelli, founder of the Committee of the Friends of
East New York Brooklyn with over 1,000 members; Joseph D. Monticciolo, FAIA,
Architectual Consulting; and Joseph Sciame, VP of St. John’s University Office
of Community Relations. The Chairman of the Italian Heritage & Cultural Committee
of NY and the Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American
Organizations are also working closely
with our team to ensure a successful rehabilitation and restoration of the
historic church.
It must be noted that our team had a very limited amount of time to complete
this proposal. Unfortunately, I was only notified about the RFP just days
before my wife and I departed on a 3 week Ministry Voyage to South
Africa. Accordingly, our team is entirely open to any adjustments or
modifications you may suggest or require. If you should require any
additional materials or information not provided for in this proposal, please
do not hesitate to contact us:
Nazareth Christian Fellowship
576 Ralph Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11233
718.771.9193
ncfellowship@aol.com
We look forward to the opportunity to continue the next step of the selection process and we thank you
for your consideration.
"We shape our buildings;
thereafter, our buildings shape us." – Winston Churchill
TAB B
Narrative Overview
This is a proposal for the
rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Our Lady of Loreto Church for use as a
community center and multi-purpose facility in the Brownsville Section of
Brooklyn. Our team proposes to restore this church to its original purpose as a
place of worship, reflection, and retreat for the growing and expanding
congregation of the Nazareth Christian Fellowship.
While religious worship is among one of the listed restricted uses in the RFP, it must be noted that our particular Congregation and cause in fact meets most every other requirement and criteria encouraged by the review committee for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the building. The Nazareth Christian Fellowship is one that is grounded in and devoted to the community, the arts, culture, and education, and we encourage the review committee to consider this proposal impartially and in its entirety.
Our vision is clear – we are
determined not only to save Our Lady of Loreto Church, but to restore the
building to its former glory. Our plan
is one of conservation, sustainability, and community – three things essential
for a successful rehabilitation of the historic Our Lady of Loreto Church
building.
TAB C
Applicant Description
I am currently the senior pastor of the Nazareth Christian Fellowship, a thriving and growing church located in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn, New York. Our expanding congregation has already outgrown our existing facility on Ralph Avenue, Brooklyn and, as result,we are seeking to relocate to a larger location. Our Lady of Loreto Church would be the perfect site for our growing congregation.
As an Accounting graduate
from Baruch College, I worked as a Financial Regulator on Wall Street for over
twenty years. From there I founded my
own firm, BRJ Advisors LLC, a New York based consulting firm that provides
financial planning and counseling to individuals, families and small
businesses. I am an established Christian author and currently serve as
Presiding Prelate for the New York State Diocese of the United Covenant
Churches of Christ (UCCC).
Approximately three months
ago, I drove past the former Our Lady of Loreto Church and noticed the windows
were boarded up. When I inquired about
the beautiful church, I was shocked that the building might be torn down or
converted into a recreational facility. Knowing I needed more space for my
growing congregation and confident in my ability to rehabilitate and restore, I
engaged a team of prestigious New York developers to oversee my plan and this
cause.
Our Lady of Loreto was a
building erected for the purpose of worship, community development, and a safe
haven for those in nearby neighborhoods. Our Lady of Loreto was home to
countless immigrants – especially Italian immigrants – in need of support,
prayer, and reflection. Its rich
history and purpose must not be forgotten, and our team will make certain that
the vision and purpose of Our Lady of Loreto Church will live on.
Instead of converting Our
Lady of Loreto Church into solely a recreational facitliy, my team and I hope
to restore and transform the former Our Lady of Loreto Church building into a
community center and space where groups can gather for educational seminars,
after-school workshops, art programs and more.
My team, unlike most other developers, understands the amount of sacrfice,
services and finances that went into building this great church, and we are
determined to restore the site to its former greatness and transform
neighboring communites in the process.
TAB D
Experience
Nazareth Christian Fellowship and Our Community Involvement
As senior pastor, I founded
the Nazareth Christian Fellowship Community Development Corporation (NCFCDC)
where I work to redevelop, revive and transform neighboring communities in
Brooklyn. As founder of the NCFCDC, I
continue to work with numerous community leaders to provide a host of academic, social, recreational, vocational and health
information services for the betterment of our neighborhoods and
communities. Furthermore, because we
are multi-lingual, we are able to help and provide services for families of
different nationalities and ethnicities. Below is a list of programs created by
the NCFCDC:
1. Start Again Community Lunch Services – These lunches are organized twice a month and were created to encourage,
rejuvinate
and unify members of our community through songs, sermons and prayer.
2. Renaissance Men’s Shelter – In partner with the Shelter’s Life Skills Specialist, the NCFCDC organizes
bi-weekly meetings and sessions for men in shelters and those facing some of the greatest challenges of their lives.
The bi-weekly meetings instill a sense of hope and encouragement for those in the Renaissance Men’s Shelter to help get them
on their feet and pointed in the right direction.
3. John Walter Edwards Apartments (Residence for the Elderly) – We meet with the elderly residents of
John Walter
Edwards Apartments once a month for prayer services and Bible readings.
4. Save Our Streets Clergy Action Network – The NCFCDC joins the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center in their
efforts to
reduce violence in our communities by organizing passive rallies, marches, and
educational seminars.
5. Health Information Services – The NCFCDC, in partnership with organizations such as Project Renewal and The Brooklyn
AIDS Task Force, hosts educational seminars and events to help raise awareness for members of neighboring communities.
We provide various services including free mobile mammogram screening, onsite rapid testing for HIV/AIDS and the distribution
of informational materials.
6. American Cancer Society – The NCFCDC works closely with the American Cancer Society to help to raise funds for breast
cancer research and we also host an annual event in observance of Breast Cancer
Awareness month.
7. Holiday Programs – The NCFCDC organizes various drives during the holiday season. The NCFCDC donates their winter
coat proceedings to New York Cares Coat Drive and the Winter Wishes Program. Gifts collected from the community
are distributed to The Brookdale
Hospital Medical Center and St. John's Place Family Center.
8. Vacation Bible School – The NCFCDC hosts a three-day summer initiative catered to children ages 3-12,
where they
participate in the reading of Bible stories, sing songs, and participate in
arts and crafts, games and other activities.
TAB E
Financing Proposal
We currently own, free and
clear, a building located at 576 Ralph Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. The building is approximately 4,293 square
feet including the lower level basement. The property has an estimated value of $575.000. The cost to maintain
this property for the 2012 calendar year was $16,000. Furthermore, the Nazareth Christian Fellowship consists of
approximately 120 to 150 faithful congregants, who generously donated funds
totaling $176,000 just in the 2012 year. By leveraging our currently owned real estate in addition to a capital
campaign, we feel confident that we will raise the necessary funds. In
addition, we believe that we will interface with our own congregation and other
groups like the Italian Heritage & Cultural Committee and others with a
vested interest in preserving the building.
An essential part of our
proposal is to preserve the history of this great landmark Church so that it
can once again become accessible to parishioners of the former Our Lady of
Loreto Church. By taking a mortgage
against real estate that our Congregation owns free and clear, we will generate
the initial capital required to perform Phase I of the basic renovation of the
building interior. In addition, we will
manage a capital campaign to raise funds from both our Congregation as well as
members of the Brooklyn and Italian-American community who feel deeply
connected to this Church and its history.
The former Our Lady of Loreto
Church building is a space approximately four times larger than our current
location. This much needed space could
potentially multiply our total congregants by ten times, and accordingly, raise
our annual donations to a projected $1.8 million/year, an income more than adequate
to maintain and sustain the current building.
Furthermore, with the growth of the Congregation, comes the opportunity
to fund projects and programs to better benefit the surrounding community.
Additionally, these estimates
do not include any donations that could be acquired from possible grants,
committee funding, Italian-American organizations, or assistance from the local
community interested in preserving this historic building.
TAB F
Letters of Interest for Private and
Public Funds
Due to the limited amount
time we had in preparing this proposal, we were unable to obtain Letters of
Interest for Private and Public Funds at this time.
I became aware of this
opportunity to submit a proposal on April 18, 2013 but could not take action
until after I returned from a Ministry Voyage to South Africa on May 3,
2013. Immediately upon my return,
however, I contacted and organized a team of the following prestigious
individuals and institutions. Each team
member listed below is willing and able to assist with our mission to
rehabilitate and restore this historic building to its former glory.
Joseph Sciame Chair, Conference of Presidents of Major
I-A Organizations and
President/Chair, IHCC-NY, Inc.
Dominick “Donny” Mondelli, Founder of The Friends of East
York Brooklyn
Joseph D. Monticciolo, FAIA,
President, The Monticciolo Company
Charles Piazza, Executive Managing Director, NAI
Global
Frank Sciame, President, Sciame Development, Inc.
TAB G
Community Facility
Our vision for the former Our
Lady of Loreto Church is to create a center for community programs, public
meetings and events, with an important goal in mind – preserving, restoring and
rehabilitating this historic church.
Our hopes for the former Our
Lady of Loreto Church site is to design it for and minister to the total person
– spiritually, emotionally, physically and socially. The Nazareth Christian
Fellowship, backed by this team of extraordinary developers, will work towards
creating a center for art programs, continuing education for youth and adults,
after-school programming, senior nights, and more. Furthermore, my experience living in Brooklyn has shown me the
need for better daycare centers, not only for the betterment of our community’s
children, but as a center of support for the many working parents in our
neighborhood. With this in mind, we plan to dedicate a portion of the space in
the former Our Lady of Loreto Church building entirely to a daycare center.
Additionally, we plan to set aside space in the building for a small memorial
honoring the story and powerful history of the former Our Lady of Loreto
Church.
We will also work with our
Congregants to better develop their spirituality and faith through Bible
readings, prayer services and religious seminars. Most importantly, our church will live out the dream and vision
of the former Our Lady of Loreto Church – it will be a place where everyone is
welcome.
TAB H
Design Narrative
The most appealing component
of our proposal is that we plan to retain as much of the historic façade and
interiors as possible. We plan to maintain the same building layout as opposed
to undergoing a massive renovation, but will reinforce and rehabilitate the
structure as needed. We will perform such renovations in a cost-effective way
and will use durable materials to ensure a sustainable design and community
space.
Any and all construction that
will be performed will conform to the current zoning and that of the New York
City Zoning Resolution and will also adhere to the current New York City
Building Code, applicable laws and regulations. Furthermore, with the guidance
of Frank Sciame, former Chairman of The New York Landmarks Conservancy, such
repairs will be grounded in preservation and will comply as much as possible
with the United States Secretary of the Interior Standards for Treatment of
Historic Properties.
TAB I
Architectural Submission
This team is currently
in contact with the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation (NEBHDCo),
a not-for-profit organization located in the Ocean Hill neighborhood of
Brooklyn. The NEBHDCo originally
submitted plans to the Brooklyn Diocese, who currently have a copy in their
possession, for the adaptive reuse, rehabilitation and restoration of the
former Our Lady of Loreto Church building.
TAB J
Sustainability Elements
The function of
sustainability is to repurpose and adaptively reuse existing space.
Ecologically responsible repurposing is one that is minimally invasive and low
cost. In this way, our vision is grounded in the elements of sustainability.
The former Our Lady of Loreto Church was a place of worship and a center for
the community. Our goal is to maintain this building’s essential function and
provide a space for the surrounding neighborhood for prayer, programs and
seminars.
TAB K
Design Team Experience
Please see attached for the following résumés:
Bishop Roberto Jemmott
Joseph D. Monticciolo, FAIA,
President, The Monticciolo Company
Charles Piazza, Executive Managing Director, NAI
Global
Frank Sciame, President, Sciame Development, Inc.
TAB L
Development Schedule
The development team anticipates a construction schedule with the following tentative milestones:
6 Months à Pre-Construction and Finalization
12 Months à Phase I Construction, Renovation of Interior, and
Exterior Stabilization
6 Months à Interior Fit-Out Including Furniture, Fixtures and
Equipment
The critical factors for meeting the former Our Lady of Loreto Church building’s goals for quality, schedule and budget are to address the project’s complexities using a thorough pre-construction planning and coordination process and a cost-effective and efficient building strategy that includes but is not limited to:
v A strong focus on pre-construction logistics and planning to ensure that the complexities of the project are properly planned
for and solved;
v A careful study of opportunities available to the project to minimize the impact on the historic church structure and interior space;
v A strong focus on collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication in order to rehabilitate and restore the
landmark building.
Should you require a more detailed Development Schedule, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
As per your Submission Requirements, we ask that if we are not selected as your Development Team, that you donate
our non refundable deposit check of $1,000 to the Catholic Church or to an affiliated Catholic Charity.