Announcing the phased plans for rebuilding Harbin Hot Springs...
| Making progress, making plans for a phased reopening and rebuilding... |
Dear John, This week marks the six-month anniversary of the Valley Fire, which destroyed most of Harbin, and dramatically impacted our surrounding community. Although we are still dealing with the emotional challenges of such a traumatic event, our physical recovery efforts are well underway. If you've ever worked on a substantial home project, you know that every stage turns out to be more complicated than expected, and takes a little longer than planned. The Harbin Hot Springs restoration is no exception, for sure. But we are happy with the progress we've made, and are excited to be in the planning stages for a phased reopening of our retreat center. ________________________________________________________________ Cleanup is complete! If you read the damage overview report in our last newsletter, you know that clearing our land of debris has been a top priority. We are happy to say that all sites with destroyed buildings have been professionally cleared from our main guest and resident areas. This will allow us to safely bring crews up on property to begin restoring basic services. Best of all, green grass is visible, and some trees are beginning to blossom. Post-Cleanup Photos ________________________________________________________________ Infrastructure restoration While we are meeting with our architectural partners on design concepts, we are actively working to restore the most basic utilities -- water, sewer, electricity, communications, pools, etc. -- to our property. Our operational systems such as human resources, accounting, security, etc. are also up and running. This behind-the-scenes work is critical in preparing us for a reopening of our facilities, and it's encouraging to see some progress. Meeting with Architects ________________________________________________________________ Phased reopening & rebuilding plans Even in the most optimistic scenario, rebuilding Harbin to its former capacity will take a number of years. That said, we certainly hear that our guests want to return to the "healing waters" of Harbin as soon as possible, so our plans reflect a phased approach to reopening and rebuilding. Of course, with so many variables at play, it is impossible to give firm dates to our plans at this time. But we will keep you informed on our progress, so you can choose the best time to return to the Harbin experience. Phased Rebuilding Overview (or download pdf) __________________________________________________________ As you can imagine, our residents, staff and neighbors have been impacted on so many levels by the fire, and have learned to approach our recovery one step at a time. We are not in a position to accept volunteer offers right now, but if you wished to contribute to our Staff Relief Fund (which will help cover staff expenses until they can return to work) please do so before it closes on March 12. Or consider posting a special memory on our Facebook Guest Book, so your past experiences at Harbin will energize us during the challenging months ahead. Harbin Hot Springs will reopen! We miss you, and hope to welcome you back to our retreat center as soon as practically possible. In the meantime, please keep us in your thoughts, hearts and prayers. Sincerely, The management, staff and residents of Harbin Hot Springs Photos by T O'Rourke _________________________________________________________________ Follow us on Facebook or visit www.harbin.org for news on the plans for Harbin's future. |
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