Go Fund Me page launched to preserve South Monterey County Mission

To learn more about the Campaign for the Preservation of Mission San Antonio go to https://www.preservemissionsanantonio.org/ and to donate to the Go Fund Me Page https://www.gofundme.com/preserve-mission-san-antonio-de-pad

A mission in Monterey County is taking an unusual step to get some much needed funding.

Money thats needed to make the very old mission safe…and complete with a state mandate.

The mission has a foundation to raise money. It started back in 2010, right after California mandated that all unreinforced masonry buildings be seismic retrofitted…. Or face closure.
Two years later the construction started.
But this project costs big bucks… nearly 8 million dollars.

The Mission San Antonio was the third mission built in California… back in 1771.
It’s unique compared to the other missions of California.

David Armanasco, Owner of Amanasco Public Relations Inc, says,
“Being surrounded by Fort Hunter Liggett there’s never been any development around the mission, and there for when visitors go to see the mission they really can visualize life at a mission back in the 1770’s”

Since then, other than the church itself… the mission has needed major work. Its had to be completely rebuilt back in 1948, because the primary ingredient in this building is adobe…. Made of mud sand and clay, which just isn’t strong enough to stand the sands of time and let alone earthquakes.

After 8 years of hard work and construction. In order to retrofit the building, the mission still has a ways to go.

David Armanasco says, “The Mission San Antonio has been deeply involved in raising funds from a very committed board of directors”, “we completed a number of the phases but we have more to go. Which is why we decided to start a go-fund me page.”

That construction has taken a toll on the building and its members.

Docent at the Mission, Dominic Gregorio says, “So we do have a retreat center here and that has impacted the use of that retreat center when the construction moves from wind to wing. Of course the construction has to move from wing to wing. And yes it’s disruptive but it’s absolutely necessary.”

However, it’s not just about satisfying a mandate. It’s also about preserving the building. Something that everyone is excited about.

Traveling residents of San Jose, Bernard and Sharon Garcia say, “how definitely, it’s our culture out heritage. I mean this beginning to before Spain brought this into their union would be in 1777 going back into the original Indians.

The go fund me goal is to raise 50,000 dollars to see if that brings in some money. The mission still has nearly 2 million dollars left to raise.