Pros and Cons: The Cons
As for most important choices in life, the Task Force sees a number of positives and a number of negatives to Seylynn Village as a location, and to the deal we have explored with Hynes to build our new church there.
Set forth below is our listing of the negatives, the "cons", to Seylynn Village as a location for our new church and to the possible deal structure we have explored with Hynes. The positives or "pros" are listed on a separate webpage, under the tab marked "Pros".
Cons:
- Not centrally located for NSUC's congregation as it exists today. We might lose some members.
- Mountain Highway and Fern Street is a very busy corner. Is it perhaps too busy, too noisy?
- Where Seylynn Village will be built is not a great part of town now
- Everything depends on the part of town being "turned around," on Seylynn Village being successful and sparking future development in the area
- What happens if the vision of Lower Lynn becoming increasingly developed, perhaps even the DNV's "town centre," never happens?
- Not everyone in our congregation wants to be in an urban setting, in the "thick of things." We could lose members
- Major loss of control by being part of a multiuse development, especially as compared with a stand alone structure we develop on our own
- Our design flexibility is limited to what will work for the overall Seylynn Village project, and by how willing and able Hynes and the mutually chosen architect actually turn out to be in adapting the building design to suit NSUC needs and desires
- Since NSUC will own only part of the building, decision making must be shared with other owners in the building, and perhaps with owners of other buildings in the project
- Must share also the responsibility and costs for maintenance of common structural elements and areas
- We would have a much more "vertical" church than we would ideally like
- Would likely require us to design our church to fit on three or more floors
- Parking must be shared. Can we assure ourselves that there will be enough to meet our needs?
- Our preference for following sustainability and “green building” principles is dependent on Hynes being able to carry out the green building goals and energy efficiency principles it has promised the District it will deliver
- For NSUC to get deeply involved in Seylynn Village and go forward with the deal we have explored, NSUC would need to commit to the project at a relatively early stage in the development of the project, and long before its ultimate completion
- At such an early stage, less will be known about Seylynn Village's prospects for ultimate success
- Assuming our building is completed during a relatively early stage of the project and we move in, we are likely to be in a "construction zone" for a long period of time, while the rest of Seylynn Village is being built out
- Although we would not be "partnering" with Hynes because he must complete our space and absorb cost overruns before we close and move in, we would nevertheless be counting on him ultimately to succeed with the project
- In particular, assuming our space is properly completed and we move in, we have risk that the rest of the project will be greatly delayed, or perhaps never successfully completed
- An air space parcel is an ownership form with which NSUC is not familiar. We won’t have the satisfaction of owning the ground (“feeling the dirt”) in the traditional sense
- May be difficult to have convenient access to outdoor space or to natural surroundings
- Probably difficult to design in flexibility for future expansion if needed later
- Were we to commit to the Seylynn Village transaction, we would foreclose all other development options
- We can't expect Hynes to plow money into helping us design and build our new church within Seylynn Village while we continue to entertain other options. If we commit to Seylynn Village, that will be our future so long as Hynes performs his part of the bargain
