James River Assembly signs $20M note

Empire Bank has issued Ozark-based James River Assembly church a $20 million loan designed to refinance roughly $5 million of debt and fund a $14 million expansion of its two-year-old Wilson’s Creek Campus.

Todd Yearack, James River’s director of communications, said the expansion would meet the demand created by more than 1,700 weekly visitors. The Wilson’s Creek sanctuary at the southwest Springfield site holds roughly 500 people.

He said a groundbreaking ceremony is being planned on the campus sometime this week.

“This will create so many jobs in the community,” Yearack said. “It’s really going to be a terrific boost to the local economy.”

Jon Dodd, partner with architecture firm Buxton Kubik Dodd Creative, is designing the roughly 108,000-square-foot church. Kansas City-based J.E. Dunn Construction Co., whose project list includes the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, will serve as general contractor, Yearack said.   

Dodd said the Wilson’s Creek church is intended to appeal to young families and is designed nothing like a traditional church.

“They really wanted to cater to that crowd and make it very open and inviting,” said Dodd, who has collected ideas by visiting newly constructed churches such as Wave Church in Virginia Beach, Va.

Dodd said his firm was chosen nearly two years ago to design the expanded facility following a competitive bidding process. He said the 1,400-seat main sanctuary would resemble a theater, with three large video screens to stream sermons from the Ozark campus. Other features include an interactive kiosk that will have video monitors in designated areas where parents can check on their children electronically.

Kert Parsley, chief operations officer for James River Assembly, said low interest rates made refinancing its debt appealing as church officials looked to fund the expansion at Wilson’s Creek.

“If interest rates weren’t so low, we would have just taken out a deed of trust on the new campus,” said Parsley, declining to disclose the specific rate through Empire Bank. He said church officials had looked at rates in the 4 percent range and this deal was competitive with that figure. Parsley said the church signed a 20-year term, but it has a policy of paying off all loans within 10 years.

He said a few national banks approached the church, but ultimately leaders decided to tap into its relationship with Empire Bank.

“We’re happy to stay with them and keep that money local,” he said.

James River Assembly purchased the church site at James River Freeway and FF Highway from Assemblies of God’s Southern Missouri district in the first half of 2010, Parsley said.

The Wilson’s Creek Campus is an extension of the James River Assembly church located at U.S. Highway 65 and CC Highway. Yearack said the church is following the multisite model of growing congregations nationwide. The two church sites report attendance of 8,500 each week.

The new construction portion of the project is expected to take up to 14 months, he said, and the remodel of the existing facility will take an additional four to six months. General contractor J.E. Dunn will work with 25 subcontractors, Yearack said, and they will hire hundreds of employees to work on all phases of the project scheduled for completion in spring 2013.

Dodd said Anderson Engineering Inc. will serve as civil engineer; Miller Engineering PC, will provide the structural engineering; and Smith-Goth Engineers Inc., will handle the mechanical, electrical and plumbing. He said plans should be submitted to the general contractor this week.[[In-content Ad]]