Construction of a nondenominational church that would be Ligonier Township's second-largest building project may soon get the go-ahead, according to architect Joseph Bleehash of Foothills Architecture and Consulting, Latrobe.
Last week, the planning commission approved a revised site plan for Grace Community Church of the Valley on the former Shirey Farm property on the north side of Route 30.
The project is the brainchild of township resident Gregory Podlucky, chief executive officer of LeNature's Inc. in Latrobe.
One revision to the plan, presented by Bleehash and engineer Dan Hockenberry, involved moving the main entrance more toward the center of the roughly 9-acre property and eliminating a secondary entrance on Old Lincoln Highway.
Developers must fulfill several remaining requirements, such as getting a PennDOT highway occupancy permit for Route 30, and state Department of Environmental Protection approval of the sewage treatment system.
Designs for the two-level church call for a stone-and-slate structure of about 70,000 square feet, Bleehash said. The proposal originally called for a 91-foot-high structure. Township zoning laws allow building construction up to 35 feet high, and the current proposal calls for a structure 60 feet tall, 238 feet long and 130 feet wide.
The building will include a west wing with a 600-seat sanctuary, schoolrooms, a bookstore and a coffee shop, all of which would be designated for use by church congregation members only, Bleehash said. A smaller east wing would house administrative offices.
"It's the second-largest building project that township's ever seen. The Bethlen Home (for the Aged) is the biggest," Bleehash said.
Costs have not been disclosed. The land was purchased in 2004 by Missy's Place Foundation for $430,000. Acquaintances of Podlucky say the foundation was formed in memory of his daughter, Melissa, who was killed in a car accident in 2001 at age 16.
Bleehash said he is applying to have the structure certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's Green Building Rating System, a voluntary, consensus-based national standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
"I think it's a valuable way of approaching building design today, just because of the enormous design and energy costs," he said.
To qualify for the certification, he said, the building would be equipped with a geothermal heating system.
"Buildings this size would normally consume probably two times more energy than this one would consume, just based on overall design," Bleehash said.
Other plans include planting more than 50 trees, including pin oaks and pines.
"That's something we introduced to the project. We like to be pretty environmentally conscious," Bleehash said. "We'd be turning what is now a meadow into practically a forest."
Township supervisors will hold a conditional-use permit hearing at 7 tonight at the municipal building. Pending approval of the permit, supervisors will consider granting final approval for the project at a meeting to be held 7 p.m. June 13.
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