Structural Options: Alternative Facilities
Churches can benefit from eschewing tradition in the quest for square footage
As published in Worship Facilities, Nov/Dec 2006
Sometimes traditional construction is the best choice when a church needs a worship facility to call home … or when it has outgrown an existing location. But new and different options do exist — options beyond traditional, from the ground-up, construction. What follows is a look at some of these options. One of them may hold the key to your church's solution — on that works within both the timing target and the budget constraint for your growing ministry.
Alternate Building Methods
According to Orlando, Florida-based Nicholas A. McKinney, senior associate with Trammell Crow Co.'s, Specialty Brokerage Group, church congregations and staff members are increasingly open to considering alternative building structures for three reasons: supply, affordability and audience. McKinney works with church real estate specialists Richard and Matthew Messier who have focused on this segment of real estate for more than 37 years.
"Supply — there are typically not a lot of traditional church facilities for sale in one single market with the location, size and amenities needed," McKinney explains. "Affordability — metal buildings and other [alternatives] are cheaper and can be built faster than brick and mortar. Audience — a buzzword with the church now is 'relevant.' Many churches today are trying to reach an audience that would … respond better to a non-traditional church without the pews and a steeple."
One of those alternatives is modular buildings, or buildings constructed in a factory-controlled setting and shipped to a site for installation. An example of a company that offers modular buildings as worship facilities is Alpharetta, Georgia-based Modular Building Systems.
According to McKinney, structures that contain modular components are often a draw with churches looking to purchase real estate. "These structures assist in adding value to the property because of their functionality," he says. Yet, when it comes to resale, he adds, "Their value is typically minimal when compared to the value of a tilt wall, concrete block or metal building."
Some of the immediate benefits that modular buildings may offer church staff are a cost savings in construction since the modular building process will be standardized in terms of construction materials and labor. In addition, some modular buildings can be constructed in just 45 days.
Another benefit of modular buildings for churches is that while they are easily assembled on-site, they can also be disassembled and moved. If a church moves, the modular building can move with it, and can even be reconfigured if needed. A second alternate building method is a membrane-type of structure, such as Sprung Instant Structures of Salt Lake City, Utah. According to Jim Avery, vice president of the company, Sprung structures consist of architectural membrane panels tensioned between a series of aluminum "I" beams complete with an energy-efficient, eight-inch fiberglass insulation package.
Sprung Structures are designed as a long-term permanent solution and include architectural details such as 14 different exterior membrane color options, intricate window designs, connecting corridor systems and a variety of personnel doors. In addition, Sprung offers some advantages that worship facilities find appealing. Avery says Sprung structures are quick to construct, provide long-lasting value in comparison to other types of construction, and offer flexibility because they can be relocated if necessary.
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, has utilized five Sprung Structures, Avery reports. "Youth, in particular, are drawn to the look of our buildings, and they are refreshingly different from conventional church architecture," he says.
Senior Pastor Dr. Jerry W. Wilkes of Faith Covenant Church in Hobe Sound, Florida, says his Sprung Structures withstood hurricane winds. "We took two direct eye-wall hits from hurricanes Frances and Jeanne (with winds over 125 mph) with no damage outside or inside to both Sprung buildings," Wilkes reports.
Another building method helps churches gain wide-open space: the monolithic dome. According to Barry South, president and CEO of Idaho Falls, Idaho's Dome Technology, monolithic concrete dome churches are made up of a shell structure that includes a footing, ring beam foundation, associated stem, or vertical walls, and dome penetrations for doors and windows following structural or architectural drawings.
When it comes to the interior finish of monolithic domes, South says today's domes can rival traditional construction. "Our skilled shotcrete applicators are able to complete a shotcreted surface that some architects say rivals typical textured drywall," he reports. Shotcrete is a process where concrete is shot onto a surface under pressure, using a gun or feeder mechanism, to form walls, roofs and floors.
South says the major benefits of monolithic domes include lower construction costs, faster building times, reduced heating and air conditioning expenses, spacious architecture that's not interrupted by columns and supports, and sizable square footage with a relatively small footprint. Two churches benefiting from Dome Technology's construction are Legacy Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mesa Living Word Church in Mesa, Arizona.
Perhaps the biggest benefit that South touts is the dome's durability. "We even built a mosque for Iraq before the Gulf wars. It was bombed by the U.S. Air Force with their biggest 5,000-pound bunkerbuster bomb," South relates. "The bomb totally destroyed all the interior architectural features of the mosque, but left the dome intact except where the bomb mechanically penetrated the apex of the dome before it exploded inside."
Alternate Worship Sites
Many churches today are buying or leasing real estate that was never a church to begin with. For example, office buildings, night clubs, theaters, warehouses, and dark big-box spaces such as Kmart are becoming the next neighborhood house of worship.
Why the trend? "Many of the 'Y' generation have not been to church on a regular basis. Some believe it is more inviting and comfortable to the unchurched," McKinney explains.
Whatever a church's goal, McKinney advises staff to look at zoning before considering the lease or purchase of alternative real estate as a house of worship: "Churches have gotten into trouble when they have purchased a building without verifying [that] a church is a 'permitted use,'" he reports.
McKinney says if a church is not a permitted use for a building, depending on the zoning classification, staff may apply for a special exception, but that can
come with strings attached. "Bottom line is that they need to verify that their use is permitted before they purchase the property," he emphasizes.
Yet another important consideration that McKinney says houses of worship should consider when buying alternative space is adequate parking and ample room for future growth. "If a congregation of 200 wants to purchase a warehouse that can only seat 200, the momentum of the church would be stifled and the actual church building could halt the church from growing," he cautions.
And a final piece of advice from McKinney is that churches look around carefully before buying. "Typical warehouses or flex buildings are located in industrial areas … that can provide wide-open space with adequate parking. What you have to watch out for is 'will my audience be able to find me?'" says Mckinney. If the warehouse sits behind 50 other buildings, this can be a problem.
More than traditional bricks and mortar, churches today can choose from a number of alternative building methods. Even the local strip mall can be a potential new worship site. The possibilities are endless, and a little common sense can help navigate the choices.
Q U I C K - L I N K S
Dome Technology
Monolithic concrete domes
(208) 529-0833
www.dometech.com
Homecoming Inc.
Columbaria
800) 866-8343
www.homecominginc.com
Modular Building Systems
Modular buildings
(770) 587-0155
www.modularbldg.com
Sprung Instant Structures
Manufacturer of all-weather outer membranes
over aluminum structures
(403) 245-3371
www.sprung.com
Trammell Crow Co.,
Specialty Brokerage Group
Real estate services
407) 618-1300
www.trammellcrow.com
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