Building Concept Design

How will the elevation changes in the building be addressed?
The steps and ramp to the main level will be moved indoors. The current building has four main levels and the proposed building will add a fifth. We will make all of these main levels accessible to all individuals by installing an elevator, which will have five stops and two sets of doors. Several small areas of the building, such as the sanctuary balcony, the counting room, the stage and the boiler room, will still be accessible only by stairs, even in the new building.

The atrium/convocation center is shown adjacent to the sanctuary. How will issues of heating/cooling and noise be addressed? How will this space be used?
This space will be used in a variety of ways. It will serve as a gathering space, a fellowship space and a space for exhibits, as well as a central hub for traffic within the building.

The high ceiling serves a number of purposes. First it will allow the very attractive stained glass windows on the east wall of the sanctuary to be seen in their entirety in the atrium, something that has not been possible since the 1971 addition was built. Also the high ceiling will allow these windows to be lighted uniformly and provide a much more attractive appearance when viewed from inside the sanctuary. The combination of the high ceiling and the open stairway is also intended to draw people's eyes upward and make a more obvious visual connection between the main level and the upper-level multitorium.

Acoustical materials will be used in the atrium to absorb sound and prevent worship services from being disturbed by persons present in the atrium. We anticipate that the heating and air conditioning in the atrium will be controlled independently of the adjacent areas of the building, so that the space does not need to be at the same temperature as the rest of the building. This will help to control the cost of energy.

The multitorium is shown as a space for large gatherings seated at tables, chair seating facing the stage, and athletic activities such as volleyball and basketball. How will this space work for simultaneous uses and for changing from one use to another?
This space is to include a north/south divider, which will divide the space into two smaller spaces for simultaneous use. There will be a separate storage room for chairs and tables adjacent to the multitorium, so that the entire floor space can be used for athletic activities. The floor will be modified to prevent noise from athletic activities from disturbing events taking place on the level below the multitorium.

The concept design shows a warming kitchen and a kitchenette. How are these spaces equipped? How will food be brought to a second-floor kitchen?
The term “warming kitchen” is a technical term. Our present kitchen is considered to be a “warming kitchen," so we should be able to do the same things that we do in our current kitchen. Some churches have full commercial kitchens, but the building code requirements for such kitchens are very stringent and the equipment is very expensive, so they are much more expensive to build than warming kitchens. We will be adding a kitchenette to the main level of the building, which will serve for coffee prep and service on the first floor. The new plan includes an elevator so it will be easy to transport food to the second floor.

Why do we need to change the current classroom arrangement?
Presently our nursery and the classrooms for our smallest children are all located on the lower level. While this is not yet a violation of fire codes, the code of best practices issued by the National Fire Protection Agency calls for the rooms used primarily by children under the age of six to be located on the “main level of egress," or the main floor. As we move toward a new building, we are trying to use all of the best practices in both design and construction, so we have made provisions for the nursery and the classrooms for the smallest children to be located on the main floor. This same consideration is one of the factors pointing toward the location of music facilities on the upper level rather than the lower level, since our music rehearsal rooms are used by our children’s choirs. Also, our current classrooms are operating at or beyond capacity and we are expecting continued growth in our Sunday School program, so we need to grow in space as we grow in numbers.

Will there be an adequate number of updated, accessible restrooms on every level?
The current plan has full-service, accessible restrooms on four of the five main levels and in the narthex. The only level in the current plan without a full-service restroom is the one occupied by the facilities for small children. However, we anticipate that restrooms will be incorporated within these rooms. All restrooms will be accessible by the elevator.

What will the outside of the building look like?
The exterior appearance of the building would normally be determined during the design development stage of the project. We anticipate that the new structure would blend in well with the existing building and, like the 1971 addition, will reflect the exterior design elements found on the face of the sanctuary. Even though the new structure would stand higher than the 1971 addition, we intend that the face of the sanctuary and the bell tower will still dominate the appearance of the Cedar Street side of the building.

Is there enough space for all activities when we start to designate primary and secondary uses for individual spaces? Will there be adequate storage spaces on all levels for tables and chairs, quilts, risers, seasonal items, etc.?
The new building would contain an extra 10,000 square feet of space, with more classrooms and offices than our current building and one more large rehearsal room. Nearly all spaces in the new building are as large as or larger than the rooms that are currently used for the same function. This additional space comes from adding a basement and an upper level and by combining the functions of the gym and Fox Hall into a multitorium. We will be able to increase the number of different groups meeting at our busiest times (Sunday morning and Wednesday evening) with the addition of these new spaces. We will also be able to have spaces that are designed to hold the number of people who use them. Storage spaces will be built into the new design to accommodate our storage needs. This is some of the detail that will be added to the plan during the design development stage of the project.

Why do we need so much space for music and why is it located on the upper level of the building?
Our music program has continued to grow in recent years with the inclusion of new smaller musical groups, such as the Orff Ensemble, the Recorder Consort, the St. Luke’s Fiddlers and the Flute Choir. At present we do not have enough space to accommodate concurrent rehearsals. The addition of a second rehearsal room will make this possible.

In order to keep the expanded music spaces together, they need to be located on either the upper or the lower level. Placing the music spaces on the upper level makes them easily accessible to the multitorium and its stage, an important performance space.

How closely will the ultimate building design follow the plans that have been displayed so far?
Think of the conceptual plans that you have seen so far as a general space budget. They will serve as guidelines as we move into the design development stage of the process. These conceptual designs have not yet been subjected to a rigorous architectural and engineering analysis. In all probability we will find that the size and shape of some of the rooms may need to be changed to accommodate structural members and utilities and to incorporate such items as restrooms within the classrooms for small children. The present design shows the rooms as general outlines, but eventually many of them will contain closets, counters and cabinets that have yet to be introduced into the design. It also is possible that the City of Park Ridge may impose some requirements upon us that are not reflected in the conceptual drawings.

Timeline, Fundraising, and Construction

What is the expected timeline of fundraising, breaking ground for construction and finishing construction?
In general, church projects of this size and scope take approximately three years to move from where we are now to a finished building: roughly one year for fundraising and architectural design development; a second for detailed design work, the securing of building permits, and selection of contractors; and a third for the actual construction. There are various ways to shorten this process, but much of the timetable rests upon how smoothly the fundraising process goes and upon the congregation's desire for speed.

How can we pay for this project?
This type of project is normally financed with a combination of contributions and debt. The capital campaign is designed to generate funds specifically for the building project and the balance of the cost not covered by these capital funds is normally covered by a mortgage.

Since we own our property outright, we could use it as collateral for a conventional mortgage, but as a congregation of the ELCA we have some additional funding sources available to us, such as the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA. These lenders are more concerned with the congregation’s ability to repay the loan than with the collateral value of our property. They will look closely at the results of the initial capital campaign to determine the congregation’s ability and willingness to support the project and these results will pay a critical role in determining the amount of money that they will be willing to lend for the project.

Thus the results of this initial campaign are far more important in determining the scope of the project that we can undertake than might be readily apparent at first look. Of course, the eventual decision on the exact funding plan to be used in our case is a complex one and will require much analysis and the approval of the congregation.

Where will our current programming be housed during the period of construction?
This will be determined during the design development stage of the process, when the architects will recommend the exact sequence of what will be built when and where the various functions will be housed during the various stages of the construction. Some activities may be moved two or three times during the construction project. Our architects specialize in church buildings and have a lot of experience in keeping the congregation's operations intact during construction. Often this requires the construction timetable to be lengthened, just to avoid reducing the congregation's useable space below the critical level.

Will we be making a contribution to a cause outside our congregation as we did when we installed the sanctuary air conditioning in 2004?
Beyond Our Walls provides an opportunity for members to make a contribution that will fund projects outside our congregation. On the Growing in Faith commitment card, after you indicate your Capital Campaign pledge, you may designate an additional gift for the Mount of Olives Housing Project and the Early Childhood Scholarship Fund of Concordia Avondale Campus. More information about these projects is included in the Growing in Faith packet and on the web site.

Now that green materials to build are available, as well as energy-efficient systems, has there been any thought of making St. Luke’s a more eco-friendly building?
While we intend to make the new building as green as possible, decisions on the exact systems and materials to be used are normally made during the detailed design process. Much will depend upon the funds available to us. Many "green" elements increase the initial cost of the building, even though they may reduce the ongoing costs of operating the building. We would like to make our building a model of green construction, but it is too early to determine the degree to which that will be possible.

Will the building have air conditioning in all rooms and a sprinkler system?
Yes, the plan does include bringing central air conditioning to all rooms in the church. We anticipate that we will be required to install a sprinkler system throughout the building, due to the size and scope of our project.

Where is storage for coats? Can we have standard coat hangers?
Final decisions about where coat storage will be located will be determined during the design development phase of the project. Preliminary ideas include storage for coats in an area near the current kitchen, movable coat racks on the main level, and in new space near the multitorium. Owing to popular demand, serious consideration will be given to using standard coat hangers with the new racks.

Alternatives that are not part of the Current Recommendation

Why are we building a two-story atrium/convocation area if we are so tight on space? Why not build above that area and gain more space?
The two primary reasons for building a two-story convocation area are to include the architectural detail of the stained glass windows on the east wall of the sanctuary and to draw people’s eyes upward to the stairs that lead to the multitorium. It is theoretically possible to build a larger upper level using a portion of the atrium space, but at the moment the advantages of the full atrium seem strong enough to outweigh that need.

Has consideration been given to future land acquisition or changes to the sanctuary?
The possibility for land acquisition was given serious consideration during the master planning process. But because none of the adjacent properties are on the market at the present time, the decision was made to create a Master Plan that does not depend on purchasing land at an unknown future date. If property adjacent to our current land were to be placed on the market, the congregation would undoubtedly seriously consider purchasing it. However, no formal mechanism for evaluating a future land purchase has yet been established.

At this time, the only changes expected in the sanctuary area will be to enlarge the sacristy and to reconfigure the narthex washroom space. Neither of these changes would affect the aesthetics of the sanctuary.