"The original budget was $1,464,672.00 and to date the amount spent was $1,462,247.00. This includes the three change orders which were made along the way: (1) The brick which would match the church had to be ordered from Texas ($23,404.00) (2) Kitchen equipment needed to be upgraded to commercial and a custom-made counter had to be installed ($2,823.00) (3) Wiring and water line ($385.00) was added in order to install a washer and dryer for the day care use."
Discussions with John Harvill, who is updating the church history files, indicate that the cost of the [sanctuary] building, constructed in 1900 was $60,000. I consulted with Dr. Holmes, economics professor at Troy State University as to the comparative cost of living index of the times. The best he could come up with was a cost of living for 1912, which, he stated indicated that the equivelant of $60,000 at that time would be, in today's dollars, about $1,080,000.
The old building has a footprint of about the same square footage as
that of the new building, and included steeple, unfinished (at that time)
basement, and balconies. This indicates that the First United Methodist
Church, at the beginning of century 2000, has made about the same financial
committment in building as that made by those who moved the church to the
present location in 1900!