As we look at developing the site for stage 1, we’re very keen that it’s developed with stage 2 in mind. So, with that goal, we’ve wanted to get a very clear picture of what our final development and use of the wite will look like 20 years in the future.
And here it is. Well - this is how it looks at the moment.
Lots of parking
You’ll notice that quite a lot of the current greenspace is probably going to end up as a car park. This is simply due to the fact that parking is one of the non-negotiable aspects of any church site. We want to plan for enough car spots on site to make it easy for new people to come and feel welcome. We also have council regulations that dictate the number of spaces we need to provide on-site.
A new building on the Northern part of the site
The long-term plan is to build a new auditorium on the Northside of the existing church building. Part of the reason for here is the RFS regulations we need to follow. This new building will have two main spaces… a new auditorium for church, and a new lounge/foyer (with a cafe) for things like Life, Connect Series, and much more.
A clever staging strategy
One great thing about this plan is that we can build part of it in stage 1.
The plan is to construct the first 20% - 25% of that new building (the section closest to the existing church building). When we get access to the property that section will act as our lounge/foyer until we build stage 2.
Repurpose the church for kids
While we’re in stage 1, we’ll have church services in the existing church building (see more details on that). Then when we move church into the new auditorium, we’ll do a re-fit out of that church building as a brand new youth and children’s learning space.
Making best use of the spaces
As you can see from the plan, every area of the plan really needs to earn its place and sometimes do double duties. One idea we have is for the Western car park to be grassed such that kids might be able to run around on it before and after church and during programs like Rush and Youth.