Bristlecone Lodge Remodel is Now Completed and Pay For!
Thank you to everyone who supported this project!
The Background
Built in 1979, the year 2019 marks the 40th Anniversary of the construction of Bristlecone Lodge. Bristlecone or BC as we know it is a staple building for both summer and retreating guests at Rainbow Trail. Over the last 10 years, we estimate that over 10,000 guests have used Bristlecone for their times of retreat. BC has also served as the primary housing building for the 50 summer staff that called camp home each and every summer during those 40 years. To say that it has been used well and served us well would be an understatement. With so much use and very little updating over the past 40 years, BC is starting to show its’ age and it’s time that the space is given the care that it deserves.
The Now
Under the leadership of Kyle Larson, our Director of Site and Facilities, tremendous site updates and changes have occurred over the last six years. Every cabin has been completely remodeled to include heat and recessed lighting. With the help of a skilled electrician and his team, we have almost completed the conversion to LED lighting site-wide and we now have sufficient power to use all heated cabins across the creek for retreating. We also just completed a rebuild of the deck on Columbine Lodge, our main administrative building, built a wonderful new treehouse, and have replaced almost every window in Columbine. The site is in incredible shape right now and is truly gorgeous.
Our Board of Directors has been talking about remodeling BC for several years, but there is only a small window each year in which we can close Bristlecone down for construction and not impact revenue or use in a major way. That window is typically November through the end of February. At our most recent September 2019 Rainbow Trail Board meeting, the Board felt the remodel of Bristlecone needed to be moved to the top of the priority list and needed to happen in the upcoming window starting in November 2019.
The remodel plans for Bristlecone are based around making better use of the space we have available. Since we do not own our land, the process of applying for permits to change the footprint or add onto a building can take up to two years. The remodeled common spaces will feel very similar but will have updated finishes and easier to clean materials. The primary changes will be made to bathrooms in order to better serve guest from both summer and retreating perspectives. Downstairs bathrooms will receive cosmetic upgrades and be reconfigured to include a larger shower. In addition to a sink in each bathroom, there will now be sinks in each bedroom which will help the functionality of the bedrooms while occupied by several guests. Upstairs, the kitchen area will remain similar but be updated and reconfigured to include a washer/dryer area and a linen closet for guest access. The bathrooms upstairs will undergo the largest transformation. Each side will be reconfigured to include two showers, two sinks and two toilets. With ten people on each side, the addition of one more bathroom per side should alleviate a lot of the congestion and demand for use experienced in the past. Overall the building will look similar but the remodel should radically change the functionality of the space.
The Future
As you may know, we are working toward owning our site through the land exchange. The process is moving forward with the current U.S. Forest Service feasibility analysis scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. If all goes right, we could own our site by 2023. As we move closer to owning the site, our strategy has been to make updates to all existing buildings and spaces so that when we do own our site, we can focus on moving forward with the new vision and master plan rather than spending time and money updating the site before moving forward. Bristlecone is the final building that needs updating prior to the land exchange.
How Much It Will Cost
We have entered into the initial stages of a contract with a large remodel and construction company based out of Leadville, CO. With updated as-built architectural drawings we now know the total cost of the project will be about $300,000. The good news is that we have about $140,000 already in our designated funds for this project. However, there is some urgency in our fundraising to raise the remaining $160,000. In order to start construction during our ideal November window, we want to raise the remaining funds in the next 90 days. The Board has had a policy of not building/remodeling until we had all the funds for the project in the bank. This approach has served us well as Rainbow Trail is currently 100% debt free.
How You Can Help
We think we have a great opportunity for you to be an integral part of our ministry in a new way! The financial support from the Rainbow Trail community over the years has been second to none. We know this is an aggressive fund-raising schedule to have the funds available by December 1st to build in that November to March window. $160,000. We have already raised $25,000 with $15,000 of that as a challenge gift to inspire others to give. Please don’t let your gift to this project affect your annual giving to us. We still need your support to keep operations going. If you can do an additional gift to help make this project happen, you will help transform how we do ministry for all seasons of the year. We can also receive stock gifts as well. Please be sure to mark your gift for the Bristlecone remodel project. If you have any questions, contact Kyle (kyle@rainbowtrail.org) or Dave (dave@rainbowtrail.org).
To view the full set of as-built and remodel plans click here.
