The congregation desired to provide additional office, classroom, and meeting spaces, as well as a larger fellowship space at grade, while respecting the architectural character of the original church building. However, they were challenged by limited available space on their land-locked urban site.

The design solution included enclosing an under-utilized open air courtyard, building a second story atop the existing education wing, and constructing a basement below the fellowship hall in order to maximize the buildable potential of the compact urban site. A two-story classroom block was conceived to potentially accommodate a preschool and/or grade school if the church elected to begin one in the future.

The first phase completed includes a multipurpose fellowship hall that accommodates 350 seated at tables or a regulation basketball court, enclosure of the existing courtyard to create a reception room, and addition of a second floor of youth classrooms, meeting rooms, and a library.

Owner: St. John’s Lutheran Church

Size: 27,800 sf

Services provided: facility assessment, programming, master planning, architectural design, interior design, fundraising support, construction administration

David Heit served as Sr. Project Manager and lead designer for this project while with another design firm.