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The Archive income has been shrinking (due to an insurance company unilaterally decreasing its annual contribution) and its expenses (rent) continuing to skyrocket. The Trustees knew that the only way to insulate the Archive from the cycle of rent increases was to buy a dedicated property. They started a building fund drive a year ago. Now they are very close to putting a deposit down for purchase of a unit in Wroxford, about 2 miles west of the current Archive location. Owning rather than renting will decrease the Archive's expenses about 50% (depending upon the success of the continuing fundraising), making the Archive's long term finances quite secure.
The builder there has just completed the first phase of units and has a second phase now seeking approval from the local planning people. The Archive would buy one of these units to be built in the second phase. A trustee described the unit they will have built as a shed with a metal roof and a steel frame. A picture came to my mind of a prefab metal building made from stamped steel. Was I completely wrong!
It will have double wall construction. The inner wall will be concrete block. Then in the middle there is a space for insulation and the (hidden) steel frame. Finally, the exterior is a beautiful textured brick.
A full mezzanine will extend over the 1,000 sq ft main floor. There will be a bathroom and a small kitchen. They plan to move in this coming summer. This will be a facility that will proudly showcase our Rootes heritage. (The Bentley Driver's Club is next door.)
Fundraising continues. The total cost of the building is £180,000. Currently the Trustees are almost £20,000 ($25K) short of reaching their goal.
When I was doing the scanning I really tried to not look at the drawings. (Looking would only slow me down and I wanted quantity to show for my efforts). Nevertheless, a rather strange drawing surfaced. (I’m told the hat is a “Trilby”.)
If you'd like to support the archive please see the following link for various ways you can help.
http://catmbr.org/VB_forum/showthread.php?t=5365&highlight=archive
The builder there has just completed the first phase of units and has a second phase now seeking approval from the local planning people. The Archive would buy one of these units to be built in the second phase. A trustee described the unit they will have built as a shed with a metal roof and a steel frame. A picture came to my mind of a prefab metal building made from stamped steel. Was I completely wrong!
It will have double wall construction. The inner wall will be concrete block. Then in the middle there is a space for insulation and the (hidden) steel frame. Finally, the exterior is a beautiful textured brick.
A full mezzanine will extend over the 1,000 sq ft main floor. There will be a bathroom and a small kitchen. They plan to move in this coming summer. This will be a facility that will proudly showcase our Rootes heritage. (The Bentley Driver's Club is next door.)
Fundraising continues. The total cost of the building is £180,000. Currently the Trustees are almost £20,000 ($25K) short of reaching their goal.
When I was doing the scanning I really tried to not look at the drawings. (Looking would only slow me down and I wanted quantity to show for my efforts). Nevertheless, a rather strange drawing surfaced. (I’m told the hat is a “Trilby”.)
If you'd like to support the archive please see the following link for various ways you can help.
http://catmbr.org/VB_forum/showthread.php?t=5365&highlight=archive
