After filing an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness with the Town of Blythewood July 19, Trinity United Methodist Church presented a church expansion plan to the Board of Architectural Review Monday night.
“We would like to be under permit and ready to go in five to six weeks,” John Powell, of LTC Associates Architects, told the Board.
On behalf of the church’s planning committee, Powell presented to the Board a proposed master plan that included new construction renderings of a youth ministry gathering space, additional classroom facilities and a larger capacity sanctuary to accommodate the current growth and membership forecasts of the church.
The proposed plan for the church, which sits in the center of downtown Blythewood and takes up a good portion of the block bordered by Blythewood Road, Boney Road and McNulty Street, must meet the Board’s approval regarding the architectural review aspects of construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of the existing structures, including the parking site improvements, the current church sanctuary and child care facility currently in operation.
The five-phase architectural plan is projected over the next 25 years, depending on growth forecasts and funding sources, according to Powell.
Since the plan did not address tree, landscaping, parking space allocation and signage, the church received only conditional approval at the meeting.
“The basic plan is sound,” board member Bob Mangone said, expressing the general consensus and optimism of the Board. But as these key pieces of the plan were not addressed at the hearing, the church must go before the Board again either at a special called meeting Aug. 13, or at the next calendar meeting Aug. 20.
The Board expressed general approval with the overall look of the church’s plans.
