Check Our Progress

June 24, 2010 – Move week! Work has continued over the last three weeks on the items identified during the walk through. Finishing touches are being applied while the movers have started bringing crates and furniture from the former conference building. The conference has been closed this week while staff packed and helped move. Work will continue through the week (and weekend) with hopes that the conference will open again on Monday, June 28.

Visit our photo gallery for weekly photo updates on the progress. View all weekly updates on our Building Updates page.

View the Project Development Timeline on the construction of the new NC Conference headquarters from start to finish.

The Conference Trustees welcome your suggestions and input. Please send your comments and suggestions on the project to nccbuilds@nccumc.org.

Room to be Named in Honor of Sam Dixon

Rev. Dr. Sam Dixon

The NC Conference Board of Trustees has voted that the chapel and large meeting room in the new NC Conference headquarters facility will be dedicated in honor of the late Rev. Dr. Sam Dixon. Rev. Dixon was an Elder member of the NC Conference working with the United Methodist Committee on Relief on assignment when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the already impoverished country of Haiti on January 12, 2010. Rev. Dixon died in the aftermath of the earthquake as rescue workers attempted to free him from the rubble of a hotel collapse.

“We are honored to remember Sam in this way by dedicating this area of worship and learning to his memory,” said Cashar Evans, President of the NC Conference Board of Trustees. Laura Little, Conference Trustee, expressed that “Sam was a tireless servant of Jesus Christ working diligently to his end for those less privileged all over the world.”

Architectural Drawing of Dixon Chapel and Meeting Room

The room will be dedicated as the Dixon Chapel and Meeting Room during the building dedication service planned for early June. Details of this service will be announced closer to the service date. The room is planned to be a chapel and meeting room with seating available for approximately 150 people. When used as a training facility with training tables, there will be seating for approximately 50 with outlets and cabling for computer training workshops. The west side or main wall of the room is planned to be decorated for a worshipful experience with appropriate décor for a chapel or prayer room.

Chapel and Meeting Room Entrance February 4, 2010

The conference facility is planned to be completed during May 2010 with required indoor air testing being performed during May. The building dedication service is tentatively planned for early June 2010 and conference operations will move just after the Annual Conference session in June 2010.

-February 11, 2010

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Writing on the Walls

All clergy and laity were invited to a prayer time on Monday, October 12, 2009, to join in prayer for the ministry to take place in the new facility and to record scripture and prayer on the interior walls of the building. Approximately thirty people attended the event with more sending prayers and scripture through email to be recorded on their behalf. Welcoming remarks were provided by Cashar Evans, a time of devotion and prayer was led by Bishop Al Gwinn, and instructions for recording messages and safety issues were given by Christine Dodson. Participants recorded prayer and scripture on the interior surfaces of all panels of the facility. Participants were blessed by a pause in the rain that had been in the area for several days preceeding the event. Excitement was in the air as this dream of the NC Conference begins to take form and shows this evidence of the adundant blessings we are given. Photos from the event are included in the building progress photo gallery.

Interior Space Plans

The draft interior space plans are available for your review. The plans are available in Adobe acrobat format and are available in separate files for the first and second floors. The plans available are draft furniture plans that will give an idea of furniture placement in the space. Much more detailed plans were provided to the Town of Garner for review for the application process. The UMB Tour document provided below is the narrative that will guide a tour through the space plans as provided through the links below.First Floor Space PlanSecond Floor Space PlanUMB Space Plan Narrative for Tour

Groundbreaking Ceremony

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new conference facility was held on May 29, 2009, at 10 a.m. at the facility site in Garner. Cashar Evans, president of the Conference Board of Trustees, welcomed everyone to the ceremony and Bishop Al Gwinn led opening prayer and directed the ground to be broken. Melba McCallum, vice-president of the Board of Trustees, read scripture as part of the ceremony. Directed by Bishop Gwinn, ground was broken by Cashar Evans, Melba McCallum and Christine Dodson. As part of the ceremony, Bishop Gwinn also broke ground after asking God to bless us in using the grounds and building for His work of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

 Project Overview

In 2002, the NC Annual Conference authorized the Conference Board of Trustees to purchase 10.2 acres of land in the Greenfield Parkway area for a future conference headquarters. The purchase included an additional 4-plus acres of natural areas that cannot be developed but could be used for walking trails.  The following information was adapted from an article originally published in the NC Conference Christian Advocate newspaper and written by Bill Norton, conference director of communications and Advocate editor:

“Preliminary consideration of the current and future needs of the annual conference indicate that a building of up to 35,000 square feet will be required,” Cashar Evans, trustee chairperson said. “Initial cost estimates for a building of that size would be around $5 to $5.5 million, including moving and other incidental costs. Included in the negotiations to sell the [existing Raleigh] property is the right to lease back the current building for two and a half years so conference offices can remain in the building while a new building is under construction,” he said.

Preliminary Plan Set For Environmentally Friendly NC Conference Headquarters

Artist Rendition of New Conference Office

The North Carolina Conference Board of Trustees approved preliminary plans for the site and exterior look for the new United Methodist Building project approved at the 2008 Annual Conference session.  The new conference headquarters will be located in the Greenfield Business Park near the intersection of I-40 and US 70 east of Garner.  For more information see the December 2008 NCC Christian Advocate.

Site Plan for New Conference Office

New Conference Office Location