Lutheran Church Planning Expansion

Behind the parish hall of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church lies nearly 3 acres of empty field spouting grass and weeds, some as high as 4 feet.

With the unused space combined with a congregation that has outgrown the current facility at the northeast corner of Winnetka Avenue and Chase Street, Pastor Gregory Barth said the church decided that it was time to expand.

In October, Barth applied to the city Planning Commission for a conditional-use permit to build the new facilities, which will include a 9,000-square-foot dome structure on the 3.63-acre block that the church occupies.

“For the last three years, we’ve hit a plateau with 200 people attending our worship service,” Barth said. “We really believe that we have to build a new facility and add parking spaces so that we can grow to the next level at about 350 to 400 people.”

The existing two-story, 7,645-square-foot space, which houses the human-care ministry and a school for preschool and first-grade students, will be expanded to 45,190 square feet and remodeled, and the existing 50-space parking lot will be more than doubled.

The key feature of the building plan, though, is the dome structure to be built on the unoccupied space.

“We intend to use it as a multipurpose facility for athletic events, school events, community events, worship and other events,” Barth said. “That will enable us to grow, and I think that we will get city approval.”

The construction of the dome structure, if approved, will begin either in the summer or fall of next year, Barth said, adding that the facility should be completed in six months.