Glendale Christian building new facility on 15-acre site

Once the congregation of Glendale Christian Church found the land it wanted for a new church, it didn't waste any time.

In June 2000, after purchasing 15 acres at the corner of Blackman Road and Cherokee Avenue for $400,000, "we launched into a capital-fund drive (to pay for the land) and started looking for an architect about the same time," said Senior Minister B. A. Austin. The architect is Lohmeyer-Russell.

The new 42,000-square-foot multipurpose facility will include a 600-person fellowship room for recreation and worship, 23 classrooms, a large foyer, a commercial kitchen and offices. Glendale Christian bought the land from Evangelical Free Church, which had planned to build there before purchasing the former James River Assembly of God building.

Construction on the mostly pre-engineered metal frame is just beginning and the project should be completed in early 2004. Randy Russell, president of Lohmeyer-Russell, said a pre-engineered metal frame was chosen because it allows the church to maintain the design it wanted and still stay within budget.

The classroom part of the new facility will be on two levels.

"This is the only part of the building that will be on two levels," Russell said. "It was designed that way to get the most efficient use of space." The building will have an elevator.

A three-year capital fund drive that began in September 2002 will pay for some of the construction costs. The construction is expected to cost $4 million.

Future plans call for additional classrooms and a large auditorium that will seat up to 1,000. Austin said there's no timetable or projected cost.

Austin said what makes building a church different from building a house or a commercial project is the number of people involved in the project.

"This isn't a decision that was made by one or two people or by a board of directors," he said. "We got input from the congregation, through surveys and from meetings with segments of the church, and from our building committee."

The church's existing 22,000-square-foot facility at 3114 E. Sunset St. is in a residential area near Glendale High School. Glendale Christian plans on putting the church up for sale in the next 30 days. The buildings are appraised at $1.5 million, according to Austin.

The new church project was started after the church experienced "steady and consistent growth over the last 10 years," Austin said.

During 2002, the average attendance hovered near 500. Austin leads three Sunday morning worship services in the existing auditorium, which seats approximately 270.

"But there's a limit to doing that because of a shortage of parking space and Sunday school classroom space," he said.