The Pasadena Community Church membership voted overwhelmingly to move forward with plans to more efficiently and effectively use our sizeable property and acres of buildings under roof. Our vision for the future is shaped by our respect for the rich history of Pasadena Community Church’s dedication to serving God by serving our community.
The plan is to offer for sale more than five acres of property which currently is the vacant soccer field and the PCC Preschool property. We are modernizing our entire campus to meet 21st century technology & sensitivities while keeping and respecting church traditions. Our plan the entire preschool campus will be ADA compliant and accessible to students, teachers, and staff with differing physical abilities. Right now, we cannot accommodate students, teachers, or staff with certain challenges. This plan allows us to be welcoming to all.
We believe that Methodism requires us to be good stewards of our resources. A close examination of how we were using our buildings led the congregation to realize that PCC owns lots of lightly used classroom space and many areas of the church were uninviting to people who could not climb stairs or walk long distances from the sanctuary to the LEC.
At the same time, some of our buildings are aging and need or will need extensive, expensive upgrades soon. Before we pour money into buildings that we are not using efficiently, the church decided to realign our needs and plans with our resources.
The renovation plan has a few goals:
–Reduce operating expenses by building more efficient spaces and avoiding impending repairs
-Make all buildings ADA compliant and easier for all people including children and seniors to access classrooms, play areas and meeting spaces. The plans call for the addition of an elevator in the Hamilton Building so everybody could access Sunday school and children’s classrooms.
-Provide a more secure and updated Christian-based pre-school that maintains current enrollment figures and meets/exceeds safety and accreditation standards.
-Repair significant structural issues in and under the Hamilton building that have emerged over decades
-Preserve PCC’s heritage by renovating the Hamilton Building rather than building a new building
-Make the Sanctuary and Hamilton Building more welcoming by including a welcoming center and gathering space at the church entrance
-Construct a children’s area
-Provide a covered and safe entry to the sanctuary that is especially inviting to people who use wheelchairs or have other mobility challenges.
-Do all of this updating, construction and improvement without imposing debt on church members.
-The plans call for as yet, unspecified improvements in the PCC Sanctuary’s acoustics. Once the church understands its budget based on the property sale, those plans can be determined.
The Thrift Mall will move to a renovated Life Enrichment Center building.
The church offices will move to the renovated Hamilton building. The chapel would likely become smaller but will remain. The Hamilton auditorium will be largely unchanged.
Sports programs including community pickleball and youth basketball will continue.
As you look at sketches and plans, keep in mind that the initial renderings are concepts. No design or change is assured until it has been approved by the Building Oversight Committee. The ambitions of the project will be guided, in part by the amount of money the church raises from the property sale. The money from the property sale will be used for the renovation and the renovation will not cost more money than the sale produces. There is a firm commitment by the church not to take on debt or fundraise to pay for the renovations.
Unlike many churches that are selling property in a desperate attempt to stay afloat, Pasadena Community Church is positioning itself for future growth. Our ministries and outreach are vibrant and our community service work is in some ways greater than it has ever been.
Questions? There are many decisions that lie ahead of us including final design plans. But your fellow church members who are serving on the Building Oversight Committee and the subcommittees that it will appoint throughout the process will be open to your questions.
Al Tompkins is the editor and author of this website.
He will be your first source of contact for questions and will funnel your questions to people who can give you answers.
Click here to send Al an email. Our goal is to get you answers within 24 hours.
You can also leave a voice mail by calling 727-498-6598.
Al will be available most Sundays between services in the Narthex. If you don’t know Al just ask one of the ushers to point him out.
We have a goal of OVERcommunicating this renovation process. We will document the progress with images, videos and design plans as they evolve.
It is the Building Committee’s intent to hold open meetings more or less monthly during final planning and construction and to answer questions about the plans and progress. These meetings will most likely be between Sunday services but if there is a need, we will also hold meetings at other times, such as Wednesday nights. We hope YOU will tell US when we need to communicate more through in-person meetings.
As a frame of reference, this is a copy of the resolution that passed with more than 80% of the church membership vote on October 30th, 2022.
pccforward.org 