2nd CRC renovating entrances

Timothy Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

Workers of Len Honcoop Gravel do demolition and removal of the front steps of Second Christian Reformed Church last week.

LYNDEN -- Second Christian Reformed Church is getting more than new front steps in its latest remodeling effort.
  The Front Street church will gain a three-stop elevator, a better nursery for the young children and better flow throughout the front of the building.
  Chris Van Staalduinen, project manager and owner of Black Diamond Builders, said that the changes will improve access for people at the church.
  Work started last Monday to remove the front steps and begin clearing the way for a southward expansion to the basement.
  The new 800 square feet in the basement will allow the nursery to be moved from across the street into the main church building, Van Staalduinen said.
  A new main entrance at the corner of Front and Eighth streets will provide one stop for the new elevator, which replaces an aging and poorly conditioned lift on the side of the building.
  Van Staalduinen said that when conversation started about replacing the lift, it was quickly evident that it would be a wiser use of resources to create more space at the main church site -- so parents don’t have to walk across the street to get to the nursery -- and add an elevator.
  The elevator will drop to the basement or rise to the sanctuary, creating a unique three-stop pattern. The only way to the basement now is through a winding staircase.
  “The most important part was access to all levels,” Van Staalduinen said.
  While the planning for the project has been underway for years, ground was broken last Monday and work should be completed in October.
  The church is contracting out the project, although some volunteer labor is being used.
  The project is also allowing the church to undergo some “well-needed maintenance” on the building, built in 1929.
  “We have been surprised at how stoutly it was built,” Van Staalduinen said. “We have been impressed with how well it stood up to the test of time.”
  He noted that the concrete was all poured and mixed by hand and that river rock was used in the construction.
  The addition will have the same look as the rest of the building and not look like an “add-on.”
  E-mail Timothy Newcomb at tim@lyndentribune.com.