CONSTRUCTION AHEAD!
A message from our Chief of Operations, Charles Bell.
First Pres is preparing for a couple of construction projects which will enhance the exterior of the campus, provide additional space for our partners at The Christ School (TCS), and improve the Shine and Student Ministry experience in the Clayton Life Center (CLC). This work comes after many months of planning and evaluating the current and future needs of our church body and those we support on our campus. Both projects are expected to begin in early March.
The first project will replace the grass on The Great Lawn with artificial turf. This will allow for year-round use as we currently do not use this space over the summer while the new grass takes root. In addition to looking great all year, the new turf will be less expensive to maintain. A generous donor has 100% covered the cost to install this project and we will all benefit from the variety of uses this area serves.
The second project involves creating new classroom/administrative spaces for The Christ School and consolidating all of our Sunday morning student and SHINE activities into a refreshed space in the Clayton Life Center. The planning for this began in late 2021 and involved many individuals from First Pres and TCS.
Some of the benefits of this project include:
TCS can increase their future student enrollment by ~125 (a potential 28% increase over current capacity).
Greater use of First Pres’ unused spaces throughout the week.
Simpler navigation around campus as all Sunday morning children and student activities will take place in the Clayton Life Center.
A much needed refresh for CLC as the first and third floors will be completely updated based on our current and future needs.
Here is an overview of the activity you will see in the coming months:
Artificial turf installation will begin the week of March 6th to take advantage of Spring Break and ensure all will be complete before Palm Sunday.
TCS-related construction activity will begin in early March as well with a completion slated for end of June 2023.
Student Ministry (Peak & Tribe) will continue to meet in AYH throughout the construction, moving into their new CLC space in Summer 2023.
The Warehouse in AYH will be unavailable early into the project so \alternate Wednesday night large-group spaces will migrate to the Angel Wing or the new lawn!
3rd floor SHINE classes will quickly move to new rooms on the first floor of CLC.
There will be some Shine classroom changes on the first floor throughout the process but we will have staff available to welcome and direct on Sunday mornings.
We are doing our best to make sure there are no big challenges during the process. Please be patient and be on the lookout for updates as we progress over the next few months. The end result will be well worth the effort!
I’m thankful to serve you with Our Best throughout this project!
