4. PCSR 02-08-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• Support community theater and musical events The church wanted to create a sanctuary space that could host other uses. To that end, they are striving to create a gathering space that can be used for multiple purposes. These could include indoor music recitals and choral events as well as community theater productions. Their hope is to expand the summer season music events into a year round activity to draw people to the downtown. • Bring back the "community room" When the bank was first constructed in the early 1970's a community room was included on the walk-out or lower level (river side). Many of the older members of the church remember with fondness attending meetings for organizations such as the United Way in the community room. They felt that reestablishing a community space would be a great benefit not only to the downtown neighborhood, but also to the Elk River community. They wanted this space to serve a dual purpose in supporting church or funeral luncheons (possibly catered by downtown restaurants) and creating a downtown meeting space for community organizations. The church wants their facility to function both as worship place and a resource to the community. The bank building and site are unique to the downtown district. In the Master Planning process there was a desire for the building to look like a church, while respecting the existing site, building and downtown district. The Master Plan has attempted to do this in several areas: • .The facade will utilize the existing building's theme of brick and accent stucco. • They will use a brick matching the existing building's brick in size and color. • To complement the brick and other downtown materials the existing white stucco surfaces will be softened by painting them abeige/tan color. • The incorporation of stonework is intended to complement and tie into the church's public plaza space. In the reuse of the bank site as a church facility City Ordinances require more parking than is possible on the site. There is however, ample private and public parking adjacent to the site. The Master Plan for the church shows a design for a 365 capacity main seating area. City Ordinance requires one (1) parking space for every three (3) seats in the main seating area. Thus 122 parking spaces are required to meet the City Ordinances. The Master Plan shows approximately 22 spaces available on site, leaving the need for an additional 100 parking spaces. The primary time for the majority of the church's parking needs will be on Sunday morning. The downtown commercial parking needs are typically at their lowest when the church's needs are highest. The church has contacted Dare's Funeral Home regarding the use of their parking lot on Sunday mornings which has approximately 45 parking spaces. Dare's and the church are working on a document to finalize this agreement. VANMAN ARCHITECTS AND BUILDERS INC. 669 Winnetka Avenue North • Suite 210 • Minneapolis, Minnesota 55427 888.327.2817 • 763.541.9552 • fax 763.541.9857 www.vanmanab.com