Building Project Blog

Exciting changes to the site plan

2008-12-11T23:26:00Z

As we have continued to develop how the building concepts would reflect and enable the non-profit partnerships that are critical to our vision, some great changes have been made in the site plan (how the buildings will be laid out on the land).

One of the main things I communicated to our design team was how the success of the non-profit center would be critical to the success of this project. Since we have learned that many non-profit clients are deterred by having to come in to a “church” facility, we strove to create a more logical separation between church facilities and non-profit facilities on the site while still maintaining good access between the two. When combined with the city's commercial design standards, this resulted in a 'main intersection' as you come in from St. John's Avenue where the 'church' buildings are to the right, and the non-profit center will be to the left.

In the new concept, we also make better use of the site's natural features. With these changes, we increase the efficiency of the site footprint and parking, work better with the natural topography of the land, save cost and better incorporate the land's natural beauty. The existing natural space around the oak grove is amazing. There is one live oak that has a 60-inch diameter! These trees are beautiful and create a great natural setting that can't be built with man-made materials.

We're excited about the direction of our current concepts, as they bring us even more closely in line with what we desire to accomplish through the use of these facilities for us and for others. A few refinements are still in the works so there may still be some additional changes, but for now check out the new layout below [learn more about the project design and the site plan].

Property closing update - we’re almost there!

2008-12-08T15:22:00Z

It's been a ride but we're still on track for closing by the end of the year. If you're not in the real estate business, you wouldn't believe the work that goes into buying a piece of property. Praise God for supplying so much expertise and wisdom on our project team. Through due diligence, environmental assessments, surveys, everything that goes into selecting and negotiating and securing a loan, working out contracts and amendments to contracts; it's a complex process. Over the past several months, our team has worked together closely to get to this point. Thank you!!

Design starts to take shape

2008-10-08T18:51:00Z

As the site plan and some of the high-level building design features begin to take shape, it's exciting to see how a physical building could embody and better-enable the pursuit of our church's vision in consistency with our culture and values. Here's the most recent perspective view of the three phase one buildings – the Auditorium in the background, the children's area in the foreground, and the non-profit/training space on the right. Outdoor spaces surround each building to create an open and comfortable environment to engage the church as well as the community. The 'look and feel' will promise to fit our straight-forward, no-frills culture.

Read much more and see a master plan for the site on the Project Overview page.

Online Giving

2008-10-08T14:31:00Z

As many of you prayerfully consider what God would have you give towards the Building Project, we wanted to let you know that you can now complete your commitment card online as an alternative to filling out a physical card. The online giving site also allows you to setup one-time and recurring EFTs and is designed to help you manage your giving over the next 3 years. Online giving is available at austinstone.org/give.

Open House - Oct 5 and 12

2008-10-04T05:21:00Z

We're getting ready for the open house for the building project after each Sunday worship service for the next two weeks. I'm excited to be giving the Sunday crowd a first look at some of the emerging ideas for look, feel, and functionality of the buildings. This is a great first chance to 'kick the tires.' Though we certainly do not have all the answers yet, leaders will be ready to talk with you about your questions and about how the project is shaping up from the perspectives of Design and Use, Site and Construction, and Finance and Giving. Come on by - we'll look forward to seeing you, we'll be downstairs in the AHS cafeteria.

Underway

2008-10-04T05:14:00Z

We are excited to report that we held our project kickoff this week. This marked the first time our architect, construction contractor, civil engineer,project manager, and The Austin Stone team were all together in the same room. Being in the vision series, we were able to cast a more crystallized vision for what we need to accomplish through what is built.

It became apparent as we worked together this week that the players are all on the same page. We did and will continue to have healthy discussion about the particulars of design and construction as we measure them against the strong values of The Austin Stone and our vision to be a church for the city.

Please continue to pray for God to grant his wisdom and bring about our obedience as we work through the hundreds of difficult decisions in the near future. Pray that the process is just as God-honoring as the finished product.

Project Team Kickoff Coming Up

2008-09-19T22:00:00Z

The ball is starting to roll now and picking up speed. We’ve started to get our construction contractor up to date with where we are in our current site planning. We’ve had great conversations about our values of building spaces that are useful to facilitate living out our vision.

We’re right now getting ready for the core project team kickoff in a couple of weeks on October 2, where we’ll bring our new construction contractor, our architect, our project manager, and The Austin Stone team all together for the first time.

Please pray specifically for this important meeting - that God would use it to align the hearts and minds of all the involved parties with the values that support who we are and what God has called us to do in Austin.

We'll be providing more specifics about the plans for the site as these talented individuals work together under the direction of our leadership team.

Launching the Vision Series

2008-09-05T20:45:01Z

We started our Vision Series this past Tuesday at the first weekly Prayer for the City service at Grace Covenant Church. It was awesome! This weekend will be the first Sunday around communicating the vision that God has given the leadership of our church to be a Church for the City. It's going to be so important that you learn and pray about this vision and what it will mean for you. So, I really want to encourage you to engage in this dialogue as the next seven weeks unfold.

This vision will drive not only our church, but is the core of why we're even doing this building project. What God is calling us to move forward to do drives first the need for a facility, but also will drive every decision that goes into what the building will look like and how it will be built. We're launching a site for this next week that will help you start to get your head - and heart - around what we're doing and why. Read more on our Church for the City site.

Moving Ahead

2008-08-28T15:01:00Z

To bring you up to speed, the site has been selected and voted on and we’ve been working with Visioneering Studios, our architect, for a few months to develop a first cut at a master plan for the site. Last week, the team selected Structura, Inc. as our construction contractor, and we’re excited to have them on board. We believe they are a great fit with us and can really contribute to making our facilities most useful while minimizing their cost.

So right now, we’re really still in the entryway to the design process. Those on our leadership teams are working together as we move forward with pre-construction work like getting the firms together, finalizing the master plan, and working out how to phase parts of the construction. There are a lot of foundational details being worked out right now, so please pray for God’s wisdom in these decisions and for what we build to be used by God as a tool for his work in our city.

A Blog for a Building Project

2008-08-21T02:25:00Z

Now that we're under contract for the property at 7300 N IH 35 and hoping to close late this fall, we're ready to move forward in planning for the building project itself. So in this blog, formerly about the land purchase, we're progressing to discuss the building project as a whole. There will be so much to learn and share through the project as we ask God to lead us in building a useful tool for our church to pursue the transformation of our city and beyond. So, keep looking here or subscribe to the RSS feed to stay informed on the project and how it relates to our vision to be a church for the city.

Stay Tuned

2008-06-19T15:25:00Z

Now that we've voted as a church to move forward with the land purchase, you may be wondering what's next? This fall during our vision series, we'll ask you to prayerfully consider giving towards the land and building. You'll be hearing more about that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, read our F.A.Q. document if you haven't yet; it answers a lot of key questions about the land and our heart behind building a more permanent gathering space in central Austin.

Land Vote Passed!

2008-06-02T16:48:00Z

Austin Stone Family,

Thank you so much for your continued faithfulness to our body. We are excited to tell you that God has answered our prayers as we pursue His direction regarding the purchase of land. The partner vote passed with an overwhelming majority yesterday, confirming our unity and God's leading into making this purchase of land for the fame of our King in Austin and the nations! We are humbled and overwhelmed at God's faithfulness and excited about where He will take us in the future.

Grace,
Your Elders and Leadership

F.A.Q.

2008-05-29T15:57:00Z

Thanks so much for those of you who participated in the Question and Answer sessions about the land. If you missed the Q&A forums, or just have some questions of your own, click on FAQ Document to download some answers to the most common questions we've received.

If you still have questions you would like answered, feel free to contact us at info@austinstone.org.

Map of Property

2008-04-30T15:37:00Z

Boundary lines are approximate.

View Larger Map

Updated Timeline

2008-03-22T02:52:00Z

As mentioned in our previous update, here is an updated time line of partner meetings and other important dates as the church considers whether to purchase the 14.3 acre property at the northwest corner of St. Johns and I-35:

Tuesday, May 6: First Tuesday prayer service dedicated to praying about the property (7pm at Grace Covenant Church)
Sunday, May 18: presentation of feasibility studies and initial architectural renderings to partners (after the 11:15am, 5pm and 7pm services)
May 20, 21, 28: Q&A forums with the Elders and building team (7pm at the church offices)
Sunday, June 1: vote on property purchase by partners, pending Elder recommendation (after the 11:15am, 5pm and 7pm services)

In order to give the architects and engineers the time that they need and to accommodate this new timel ine, we will likely need to pick up an option to extend our 90 day period of consideration an additional 30 days.

Please mark these dates on your calendar. Also, in the coming weeks, be looking for a Building Update blog at austinstone.org; we'll be providing regular updates as we have them. The Elders and building team are thankful for your prayerful support at this point in the process and look forward to providing more specifics as they become available.