There is a firestorm of work going on at 4626 Saint Elmo Avenue; earthwork, demolition, and literally, a new foundation for St. Elmo United Methodist Church.   The Strauss Company has begun work to rebuild the historic St. Elmo United Methodist Church which was destroyed in a fire nearly two years ago. The 90 year old building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be rebuilt to resemble the original church and add classrooms and a new fellowship hall. “We’ve done a lot of renovation projects in Chattanooga and we are honored to add the St. Elmo UMC to our portfolio of work”, said John Straussberger, President of Strauss Company, “We’ve been working closely with the church and the architectural team and are excited to help get these folks back in their church.”

“There is a lot of history here at this church and we’re doing what we can to get it back to its original look. We’ve carefully removed the original stained glass windows and are having them restored, the new interior woodwork is being matched to the original, and careful consideration has been taken to match the original brick.” said Michael White, Strauss Company’s project manager.

Construction has just begun and the project is scheduled for completion by Christmas 2011.