From the Ground Up: BBFI Community Center

Owner: Baptist Bible Fellowship International
Construction manager: Crossland Construction Co. Inc.
Architect: Burkholder Design Collaborative LLC
Engineers: Toth and Associates Inc., civil; J&M Engineering LLC/RTM Engineering Consultants LLC, structural; Interpres Building Solutions LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing; and Own Inc., geotechnical
Size: 5,632 square feet
Cost: $650,000
Lender: None
Estimated completion: February
Project description: An open-plan building will serve a dual purpose as a missionary training center and a community center on the grounds of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. BBFI plans to train newcomers to its mission work in the building, but retired missionaries who live on the grounds will be able to avail themselves of the facility as a gathering space with a pickleball court and half-court basketball on the concrete patio outside, according to architect Nathan Burkholder. The building will have collapsible partitions that can break the interior into four classrooms. An adjacent BBFI Missions office building is underway and scheduled for completion around the same time as the community center. Next, BBFI campus plans call for two long-term housing facilities for retirees and a short-term housing center for missionaries traveling through the Queen City, Burkholder said.