Nielsen Builders Harrisonburg Virginia

Daily News Record
Thursday, November 1, 2007

Church Ready For $2.2M Expansion

Muhlenberg Lutheran Adds "Gathering Space"

By Tom Mitchell

Harrisonburg-A $2.2 million dollar expansion project at Muhlenberg Lutheran Church will provide the downtown house of worship wit a new facility for its members to met before and after services.
The construction of what the Rev. Dave Nelson, co-pastor at Muhlenberg Lutheran, calls a "gathering area," represents the third and final phase of a building campaign at Muhlenberg that began six years ago.
The addition will give the church 6,800 feet of new space, according to John C. Sease owner-architect for Sease and Associates, and architectural company that Muhlenberg contracted to design the addition.
The addition will contain a basement, main floor and second floor, new Sunday school classrooms and restrooms in the basement, said Sease.
Previous construction at Muhlenberg Lutheran consisted of a 9,000-square-foot activity center built for $1.6 million three years ago. That was followed by improvements to the main church building and parking lot that cost half a million dollars, Nelson said.
The main building consists of three floors, each totaling 7,500 square feet.
Muhlenberg Lutheran will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday at 12:15 pm on the church grounds, with Bishop Jim Mauney of the Virginia Synod For Lutheran churches expected to attend. Construction will start in the next few weeks, said Nelson, with December 2008 set as the target date for completion of the project.

Planned Expansion Reflects Muhlenberg's Rapid Growth

Fast Growth
"Muhlenberg has grown very rapidly," Nelson said, noting that the church's membership has risen 45 percent in the past six years, or since the building campaign began. "We have three liturgies in the morning and one in the evening, so there really is a need for a place where people can gather."
Muhlenberg's present membership of 1,100 includes an average weekly attendance of 500 at the church's four Sunday worship services, said Nelson. The church also serves as a site for numerous community-group meetings, he added.
Mark Byerly, a member at Muhlenberg Lutheran who chairs the church building committee, said the latest construction project represents part of a long-term building plan that began in 1987. At the time, Byerly, a structural engineer, and fellow committee member Tom Pippert led a study on future use of the church.
The long-term goal for Muhlenberg Lutheran, said Byerly, addressed a need for more space and accessibility, especially for the handicapped and elderly. Accordingly, the gathering area will feature an elevator and a flat-surface entrance that will accommodate wheelchairs, he said.
"Back in 1987, we talked about how we could best facilitate growth of the church," he said. "The addition gives us not only an accessible entrance, but also space for people to meet and greet each other."

Working Around The People
Nielsen Builders, a construction company in Harrisonburg, is handling construction of the new project.
Jim D. DeLucas, chief development officer for Nielsen, says that the new project faces several challenges, notably the task of keeping the company's work are clean and safe while the church continues to hold services and meetings.
"We know that churches generally operated on weekends and at nights," said DeLucas. "So, we know what to expect."

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