Stages of Planning
How do you create a space that is a community-driven collaboration and can be enjoyed by people of all ages, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds to improve their health, happiness, and well-being?
The same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time!
Here is a brief look at where we have been, and where we are heading:
Stage 1: Concept Formation and Validation - DONE
Stage 1 was all about listening and dreaming! At first, all we knew was that there was a need for places to gather and be together in Clarksburg, which we didn’t have much of. This was particularly true for teens. We talked with residents, church members, kids from the local schools, etc. They all needed a place to go and be.
We thought, what could entice people to want to come to such a place? We considered coffee… Or maybe ice cream… Or boba tea… We continued to test different ideas with residents by hosting different community events and talking with County leaders about their experience of what was working or not working.
Stage 2: Design Development - DONE
This is where dreams were fleshed out! With our early ideas in hand, we started talking to other organizations who had developed similar or adjacent venues (e.g. Strong Towns, Norm’s Coffee Bar, the Porch, and Gaithersburg Youth Club at Olde Town) but it was our partnership with Nature Sacred that turned a verbal concept into a working design.
Nature Sacred offered us a gift-in-kind grant of $50,000, intended to help communities redesign outdoor spaces for the well-being of the people who live near and use them. They connected us with EnviroCollab, who guided us in a collaborative design process that turned stories and dreams from the community into concepts and then into construction drawings for the outdoor green space. Additionally, we hired Nth Degree Architecture and Interiors to develop a design to retrofit an old garage building into a complete coffee bar.
We’ll be sharing more about the final plans in an upcoming blog!
Stage 3: Fundraising and Grant Application - ONGOING
To make this fleshed-out dream a reality, we needed the funds to support it. So we turned to the community and asked for help raising the initial $30,000. Within 6-weeks, we had hit our goal! It was a huge testimony that Clarksburg residents believed in and wanted The Yard also! And the funding didn’t end there — we applied for and were awarded a Maryland State Bond Bill for $150,000! Even the Maryland State Delegation could see the difference a place like The Clarksburg Yard could make in our community! Since then, we have continued to apply for County, Federal, and organizational grants to help fund this project.
We are hoping to raise an additional $55,000 of community-funded support between now and Fall 2024. If you want to help make this happen, donate here!
Stage 5: Completion of Construction Documents and Permitting - PENDING
While we continue to build our funding, we are completing all the permits and documentation needed to break ground. Currently, we are waiting on the County to ensure that our existing utilities can handle the additional usage while waiting on permits to apply to public sewer.
Stage 6: Ground Breaking - TBD
Here’s where it gets good: We’ve been told we could break ground on Phase 1 this summer at the earliest and in the fall at the latest! Phase 1 includes the renovation of the coffee bar and the outdoor space immediately surrounding it. This means by the end of the year it is possible that the coffee bar could be up and running.
In the meantime…
While we are waiting for The Yard to come in all its fullness, we at Clarksburg Church are going to continue to serve our community in the ways that we can with the space that we currently have, which includes hosting community events this spring and summer and offering teens opportunities for out-of-school programming including Student Service Learning (SSL) Hours.
If you are interested in helping make The Clarksburg Yard happen, there are three ways you can get involved:
Donate! We have a goal to raise $85,000 of community support before Fall 2024. (We already have $30,000.) We can’t do it without you! Donate here.
Write a letter of support. Many of our grants require public support. A letter from you saying why you want to see The Clarksburg Yard happen would help us get the funding we need. If you need a template, we’ve got one for you. Send your completed letter to the email on the template. It will be used for additional grant applications and local funding efforts. Thank you!
Spread the word. We want to make sure people are excited about what is coming. But you can’t be excited about something you don’t know about! So share the good news!