White Stone Community Church Expansion

White Stone Community Church understands patience and commitment to a vision. While the congregation invested in remodeling projects to address evolving needs over the years, they continued to raise support and funding for a larger expansion project. The intent was to create a fully integrated worship and gathering space to deepen the connections between members of their faith community.

The project presented numerous construction challenges, including a flat site with significant parking requirements, stormwater demands, and a tremendous amount of poor soil. In addition, the project required material and structural transitions between differing building types, ranging from a 1800s barn and 1980s CMU and brick structure to the new precast expansion. Moreover, the Ford team needed to address meshing the buildings together while maintaining church operations. This process required thoughtful phasing to navigate complicated life safety issues, such as providing a temporary set of stairs to support occupancy permits. Phase I of the project focused on the 25,000-sq.-ft. addition, and Phase II addressed a 14,200-sq.-ft. two-story renovation. In the spirit of community and as a means to lower project costs, church volunteers contributed labor. Under Ford’s guidance, the dedicated members helped with interior demolition, carpentry, and installing the wood floor.

The new expansion provides a welcoming entry and gathering space that unifies the congregation with areas to meet, talk, and pray. From the inviting café and enhanced worship space to a commercial kitchen to support outreach, the expansion enriches the community experience for members of White Stone Community Church.