| Harbin Awarded $469,000 CalFire Grant! |
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Dear John,
We asked for your prayers – and they have been answered! After much strategizing and effort, and stiff competition from land-owners throughout the State, CalFire has awarded Harbin Hot Springs a $469,000 Forest Health Grant. Our application for this grant was funded in part by contributions from our guests and friends; and the awarding of the grant is wonderful news for Harbin’s land, water, and trees. |
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| It is important to note that this money cannot be used for anything other than forest-related purposes, and that we will continue to need additional funding for the construction of our buildings. Specifically, this CalFire grant will be used for: bio-utilization of dead wood (using burned trees to generate heat and/or electricity); pest control (removing trees with dangerous Pine Bark Beetles); tree release (pruning re-sprouting oak stumps and trees so they grow tall and strong); reforestation (planting new trees in burned areas); and fire prevention (creating appropriate fire breaks). The work is scheduled to begin on and around Harbin property beginning late this fall, and we have through 2020 to complete this significant and very much appreciated grant. We hope this grant is the first of many that we will apply for and receive to support the remediation of Harbin’s precious natural resources. |
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Perhaps You’d Like To Sponsor a Bench?
If you are considering a larger financial gift to Harbin, we’d like to encourage you to make your gift now: sponsorship of a beautiful, comfortable, locally-hand-crafted redwood sitting bench, individualized with a commemorative, steel, fig-leaf plaque, made by our favorite Harbin metalworker and engraved with your name (or whosever you choose). You’ll not only be supporting Harbin’s rebuild and reforestation, you’ll be adding artistry to our new landscape, and providing comfort and respite to Harbin guests for years to come. Click here to find out more, and to contribute. |
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Costs, Competition, & Ramifications For Rebuilding
In the several years since we originally planned Harbin’s rebuild, construction costs have skyrocketed. With literally more than half of Lake County’s land burned in the past several years (including the largest fire in California history still active as we write this newsletter), and significant swaths of our surrounding counties burned as well, the competition for permitting, materials and labor is huge, and cost increases are huge as well. For example, the Phase 2 Kitchen Complex that we had planned for our Meadow originally priced out at $450 per square foot; now, the price of that same work has risen to $775 – a 72% jump! And this increase is typical for all the projects that we had planned. So we have been forced to reassess our finances and building plans, scale back the footprints of some of our key facilities, reconceptualize others, and reexamine not only our contractor choices and scheduling, but our overall design approach as well.
When Harbin does reopen (see below for a reassessment of that anticipated date), there will still be much construction to do. Our plan was always to focus first on the pools – to make them available as soon as possible – and then to continue with the construction of permanent buildings around the pools and throughout the property. But the reality of that decision is twofold. We are now facing the significant cost increases and materials/contractor shortages that are necessitating some re-planning. And when we do open the pools, active construction will still be ongoing at Harbin, and that will have an impact on the experience of our guests. It will be a complex and changing situation, and it is likely that our days and hours of operation will frequently be interrupted in ways that are not entirely clear at this time. Please know that we will continue to do our best, and let you know our specifics of scheduling as soon as we know them. |
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When Will Harbin Re-Open?
In our last newsletter, we described the possibility that Harbin could be open this summer. However, even though our pool area is constructed and its final details are nearing completion (click here for current photos), it has become apparent that we cannot open yet. Before we can, a variety of factors all must come together – including financing, construction, landscaping, and permitting. And it has become clear from our experience that progress in all these areas is variable and unpredictable, and that we are simultaneously and paradoxically both very close to and very far from being able to welcome back our patient guests. Reopening might be imminent; or the delays might be protracted.
So rather than again announcing a specific date and hoping to meet it, we are instead saying simply that Harbin will reopen sometime in 2019. We will continue to do our best in this challenging competitive environment, and will reopen our gates to you as soon as we possibly can. |
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Our pool area is now nearly complete! These photos include our progressing woodwork trellises and benches, and most significantly our beautiful new trees. Enjoy!
Click here for photos. |
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