by Jean Sealey
Northeast Florida Builders Association
Early on a morning last month, the construction site at the corner of Beaver and Jefferson streets in Jacksonville was alive with excitement as Northeast Florida Builders Association members and other volunteers gathered to raise the roof of Trinity Rescue Mission’s Women and Children’s Center. For two days, volunteers under the direction of the father-and-son team of Tom and Greg Matovina completed all the steps required to put the 14,000-square-foot facility under roof.
“The response from NEFBA members to this project was overwhelming with 100-plus volunteers at the event each day,” said Greg Matovina, NEFBA immediate past president and chair of the association’s Charitable Foundation. “What was particularly amazing to me was the ferociousness with which the volunteers attacked the project. It was almost scary. The outpouring of support brings tears to my eyes whenever I think of it, and the list of people to thank goes on and on.”
Starting from a slab, funded by D.R. Horton, the two-story building was all but dried in with trusses up on the second floor and sheeting of the roof being completed on Monday by the Larry T. Bradley framing crew.
“On Monday as the last sheet of plywood was being nailed on the roof, the OSHA inspector for the area stopped by,” Matovina said. “She said she had driven by late last week and nothing had been done, and she now was wondering how the whole 14,000-square-foot building got there.”
Matovina said the cost to frame the building would have been more than $80,000 were it not for the volunteer effort and would have required a month to complete the framing.
“Both the money and time saved were critical for completing the project before winter when the center is needed the most,” he said.
Matovina invited his father to help out on the project.
“My dad, like the other volunteers, saw the need for the new center, and he knew it was the right thing to do. We only had to call rescue once for him while we were getting the pre-framing done (a true story), and he was back the next day.”
“This project gave me a new light on how the homeless live, and I’m forever grateful to be involved in this project that will make a significant difference in their future,” Tom Matovina said.
Greg Matovina said the first step in getting the project organized was to pre-frame all the window and door openings two to three weeks ahead of time so they would be ready to slide in to place when needed.
“This was accomplished with the help of my dad, David Gale and James Starling at Williams and Rowe, Daniel Davis and several guys from the men’s mission. During the actual build, we did break the volunteers down in to teams of 10 with a team leader that I could communicate through.”
That approach worked well on Friday when there were many different tasks to perform, Matovina said.
“Then on Saturday, even though we weren’t supposed to start until 7:30 a.m., volunteers showed up as early as 6 a.m. and went straight back to work picking up where they left off the day before,” he said. “With most of the activities concentrated on the second floor, we abandoned the team approach for the most part and just attacked. Ceiling joists were going up, deck sheeting was following right behind and walls were being raised so quickly that by noon almost all of the upstairs walls had been built.”
Matovina said there are many heroes to thank and three groups in particular went above and beyond the call of duty.
“First, there were the framing crews for Chip Avery Framing and Larry T. Bradley Framing,” Matovina said. “Chip and his crew were there from the start and provided not only experienced hands to get ready for the trusses but also much-needed technical assistance. Larry’s crew took over from there and had the roof trusses following right behind the walls we were putting up. His crew also sheeted the roof. Finally, Ken Kuester of Lumber Unlimited delivered with key supplies several times. Without those supplies, we would not have been able to complete the build on time.”
Gene Pruett, executive director of Trinity Rescue Mission, hopes to see the facility up and running by mid-November.
“When the Women and Children’s Center is fully operational, we will have 96 beds and will be able to serve at least 1,200 women and children each year, getting them off the streets and helping them find resources to build a new life.”
Pruett said the challenge now is to raise operating funds.
“Before the shelter opens, we need an additional $500,000 to furnish rooms, equip the medical center, provide support services and establish an endowment for building maintenance,” Pruett said. “The success of this campaign strengthens our financial foundation and will allow us to better serve the homeless in Jacksonville.”