Scattered among 4 industrial buildings in downtown Berthoud and with only 300 seats, GP desired to combine all its ministries (worship, kids, youth) under one roof with an expanded 1,000 seat auditorium. CFS created the strategic plan to accomplish this goal and then led the effort to acquire a picturesque 19 acre site at the corner of Highway 287 and Mountain Avenue in Berthoud, Colorado. CFS then orchestrated the A to Z services including team selection, municipal entitlements, financing and all the pre-construction activities.
GP’s New Facility Journey (2009 through 2014)
Pursuit of Former Theatre.
CFS first connected with Grace Place Church in early 2009 though a broadcast email advertising available church development sites in Centerra. CFS represented the owner/developer of Centerra (Loveland, Colorado) who desired to have a church in its mixed-use community. But Pastor Clay Peck expressed a desire to acquire the former Metrolux Theatre building located near Centerra. Over the next several weeks, CFS obtained an architectural concept and created a total project budget ($6.3 million) that allowed Clay to present to the Trustees. The Trustees decided that a decision of this magnitude needed “to grow out of a strategic planning process” and that the church did not have the resources yet to pull it off. In early 2011, the Trustees hired CFS to begin a strategic planning process with resulted in the completion of a Facility Goal Report. This report recommended that Grace Place pursue the acquisition of the former Metrolux Theatre. CFS always recommends that a church first pursue exiting buildings because the cost and time to completion are significantly reduced. Eventually, another expanding church ended up purchasing the theatre property requiring that Grace Place change its expansion strategy.
Expand onto Adjacent Properties?
In March, 2012, CFS started pursuing the possibility to expand the church facility on adjacent properties. By September 2012, through a detailed design, engineering and pre‐construction estimating effort, it was determined that it would cost approximately $1.1 million to acquire and install the horizontal infrastructure prior to constructing a building. This high land cost led Pastor Clay and CFS to pursue vacant land sites in the area that could be acquired for the future home of Grace Place Church.
Pursuing Undeveloped Land.
In January 2013, CFS and a civil engineer met with the Town of Berthoud to discuss likely development issues for a 19‐acre site located at the southeast corner of Highway 287 and Highway 56. This included the necessity to extend utilities to the site. The pursuit of this property was complicated by the fact that the lender took the property back in foreclosure. But eventually, in June 2014, GP was able to close on the purchase of this picturesque 19 acre site.
Assignment Highlights.
- This assignment highlights the long process that church projects endure. While typically we tell our church clients to expect 2-4 years, in this case, CFS was involved for nearly 6 years before a solution was realized for Grace Place Church.
Results.
- Completed a 40-year facility solution for one of northern Colorado’s most important outwardly-focused churches.
- Assembled an all start team including nationally acclaimed land visionary and architect Visioneering Studios along with the local church construction firm Fransen Pittman.
- Created a scalable, multi-phased master plan for this picturesque 19-acre site named Cross Creek which envisions multiple buildings and outdoor spaces that invite the local community onto the property to nourish, restore, play and worship.
- Relocated an important Town of Berthoud restaurant (Trailhead Café) to serve the local residents.
- Execution of A to Z services from strategic planning through pre-construction. Normally CFS will not undertake a project without seeing it through to construction completion, but in this case, a special arrangement was made to allow the client to manage the construction process themselves.