New Grotto – January 2024
September 2023
The original bathrooms have been renovated
July 2023
With the guidance of PGK Jeff Veldhof we now have landscaping at the front of our new building. We will be getting back soon the monument to the unborn and the Card Board placement is where it will be place. Many Thanks Jeff for leading this event to completion.
The Journey
Written by Scott Crossen on behalf of the Realty Corporation
Our long journey began in 2016 as the Council was at a crossroads. At that time, the maintenance of our
building was gaining more and more momentum, and the funds for maintaining it were dwindling fast. The decision was to sell the building and look for a smaller place into which to move was made, and all of our history was packed into boxes and put into storage. The funds received from the sale of our building in 2016 were invested and will be used to help purchase a new property.
Good Shepherd Catholic Church opened its arms to us and offered their location as a place where we could continue Council business while the Realty Corporation looked for a new home for us. The Council worked with Central Catholic School and we were able to maintain our monthly breakfasts. This also formed a bond with the Council and the school as we kicked off Coats for Kids, food drives, and supporting the school with playground equipment and library books.
Since 2016, the Realty Corporation has looked at various properties and sites on which to potentially build. This has proven to be a difficult and frustrating task as multiple properties were visited and frank discussions were held regarding them all. Most of the properties had insufficient parking or had potential environmental problems that would have been inherited by us if not resolved with the seller.
In 2022, the Realty Corporation located a property at 4071 South Keystone Avenue—the site of Chase Bank—that was for sale. The price for same had dropped from over $400,000.00 to $325,000.00 and the property will have 56 parking spaces. With the help of Weichert Realty agent Dan Moriarty, the Realty Corporation began negotiations to purchase the building. There were no environmental red flags and a contract to purchase was made contingent on a zoning variance that would allow us to rent the property for small events. The zoning variance was granted and we hope to close on the property by the end of August or mid-September. The Council will finally have a new home!
Although not quite there yet, we at least can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and are most grateful! What we need now is for any of our members with licensed trades to step up and volunteer their time, materials or at cost, and experience as we begin to remodel our new building. If you can assist with this in any way, please contact a board member.
UPDATE ON THE SALE OF THE BUILDING
April 1, 2018
My Brother Knights:
As we conclude this fraternal year the Realty Board has been working toward locating a new council home that will serve the
membership into the next generations. This has not been an easy task as we have tried to use the same diligence that our forefathers did when they established our first home.
Our investments are doing well as of this writing and a report is given by the Grand Knight at each council meeting. Now we need your help.
There will be 4 positions open on this board:
- 2 — two-year positions
- 2 — three-year positions
I ask that you let the Grand Knight know if you wish to serve on this board and for which term length. The council continues to meet at Good Shepherd on the Second Monday of the month.
Also, as of this writing some board members were visiting another location at Epler and Meridian. If you have any questions please reach out to the Grand Knight or myself.
Fraternally,
Dave Jackson
September 1, 2017
My Brother Knights and Families:
We wish to give you an update of the last 6 Months of activity from the council and Realty Board.
We wish to thank all that responded to the Survey that was sent out to all with the 2017 Dues statements.
The results are as follows:
| Do you want to have a Building | 73% said yes |
|---|---|
| Do you want to move to a Church | 20% said yes |
So with this in mind the Realty Board has been searching for a new home for the council. The board has looked at numerous locations and different scenarios. As of this writing the Board continues to look and debate. If you, see a location that might be of interest please reach out to a Board member, we will gladly review all possible sites.
On June 24, 2017, the 511 E Thompson Road building closed and was re-opened as a Christian Church. The Sale of the building was $800K and after expenses left the board with $749K. This money was invested shortly after the sale. The Board put an investment team together that has the President and Vice President of the Realty Board and the Grand Knight to monitor and report back to the board.
The House function was closed with an overall loss of $30K for the last year.
The Council is meeting at Good Shepherd Catholic Church and we wish to thank them for accepting us. The Council and the Realty Board continue to work together to meet the goals of Charity, Unity and Fraternity. We ask that you join us at a council meeting on the Second Monday of each month, or attend one of the events that you will see in the upcoming newsletters. We ask that you watch the Council web site for news.
Fraternally,
David Jackson
President, Realty Board
John Hasty
Grand Knight
March 1, 2017
The Realty Board is currently working with 3 Chin churches, two which are very serious. Between the three groups, we have countered back and forth 7 times.
Also we have shown the building to 2 other groups looking to use the building as a banquet facility. The biggest obstacle for these 2 groups is property taxes and the condition of the building. $73,000.00 needed for the replacement of the roof and the heating and air conditioning, and $100,000.00 plus for updates and deferred maintenance on the building.
The Realty Board is always open to suggestions on how we should move forward. Thank you for your support and patience.
Dave Jackson
President of Realty Board
Building Sale Update and Questionnaire
Dear Brother Knights,
We wanted to take a minute of your time to update our Brother Knights on the sale of our building. Things are going well, but we had a minor setback on the closing date. The city has not approved the zoning at this time. Keep in mind, that approval is needed from the Metropolitan Development Commission and the City County Council. As it stands now, we hope to close sometime in March.
We have established a relocation committee headed by Dick White ( email: rwhite911 [at] hotmail.com). He has asked what our Brother Knights want our new facility to be or do we even want a new facility? By taking few minutes and filling out the questionnaire will help us to make decisions on our members’ desires. Please return with your dues statement.