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Dear
friends! In the summer 2004 Downside Up successfully completed
the first stage of the "New Home for Downside Up" project
aimed at raising funds for the Downside Up New Early Intervention
Centre! Thanks to the generous support from private
individuals, corporate sponsors and international charitable foundations
and organizations we have raised 440 thousand US dollars. All
the money raised is kept in deposit in the British Bank NatWest, 80%
of the money is in British Pounds.
By November 2004 we have spent $32000 on project work, technical assessment
of the building, construction works on the ground floor, official
payments to the authorities for consideration of the project and preparation
of documentation.
The next stage is development and acquisition of the initial permissive
documentation. This process began in the summer 2003 with the preparation
of the preliminary draft project of the additional storey. Unfortunately
without erection of the second floor this building cannot be used
for the children's centre due to the lack of natural light.
By June 2004 we got the permission for construction works from the
local authorities (Arkhitekturno-planirovochoye Upravleniye, Zemelniy
Komitet, Uprava and Prefectura Zapadnogo Okruga Moskvi). The draft
project was further directed for coordination to other administrative
bodies in accordance with the existing procedure.
Right now the draft project is examined by the commission of the Moscow
Architecture Committee (Reglamentnaya Komissiya Moskomarkhitekturi).
We still have to get a conclusion of the commission, present the project
and coordinate it with several supervisory bodies. In parallel with
that we are working on the architectural and construction part and
engineer networks in the new building. We also work on solving current
maintenance problems - heating and electricity.
According to optimistic forecasts we will be able to move into the
new building in autumn 2005. Unfortunately the duration of the process
of project consideration and approval by the authorities depends on
us only to a small extent, so the dates may change.
The project is coordinated by ResursStroyGarant, a construction company
with sufficient experience in the field and all the necessary licenses.
In order to make our work more effective we have created a special
board headed by the charity's friend Pierre Legare, who has extensive
experience of managing major construction projects in Canada and Russia.
Sergey Filatov, the General Director of ResursStroyGarant, Downside
Up's president Marlen Manassov and Downside Up's director Anna Portugalova
are also on the board. The board meets once a week to discuss current
problems and plan further activities.
In the beginning of the spring we are planning to begin purchasing
construction materials. We would gratefully receive free goods and
services which could reduce the cost of the work to be done. |
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