Can you tell me about the new building?

The building located at 3201 S Walton is ~16,000 square feet which is twice the size of Record. It is easily accessible and has great visibility to the community. We will have parking dedicated to our church. We will have a SOCO Kids wing that will have classrooms and not put together with pipe and drape. Our auditorium will seat ~500 people. This will be a permanent space that can host Discovery, multiple community groups at once, our weekly Youth program, SOCO Kids, worship and production rehearsals, etc.

 

What is the plan for the Brick By Brick campaign?

SOCO will continue our Brick By Brick campaign to build our future home on the corner of 14th and Been. Everything given to Brick By Brick is still designated to that campaign. Our priority for Brick By Brick in the near future is to pay off our land so when we are ready for construction we own the land and do not have to roll it into a construction loan.

 

What is the benefit of the new building and why now?

There are several benefits to this. First of all, we want our church to be healthy. Right now, every team must load in and load out their equipment, which limits the amount of people that can serve and people experience burnout quicker. A permanent space will eliminate most of the loading in and out and will allow the same number of volunteers to serve a larger service. Second, our equipment depreciates at a rapid rate due to the loading and loading out process. A permanent space will reduce the wear and tear on our equipment and, more importantly, reduce the risk of injury for our team. Lastly, as of August 2023, the rate of construction for a commercial building at the PRIME rate is between 9% and 9.25%. Supply costs have risen ~40% since this project started. We want to make sure we are making wise decisions of your stewardship to ensure we are not crippling our future.

 

When will we be in the 3201 S Walton building?

This depends on a number of things: changing occupancy type from Commercial to Assembly, the city approving buildout, and the actual buildout of the building. The process could take as little as 45-60 days; however, we fully expect to be in this building in 2023. 

 

What do we think the timeframe is to build our future home?

That’s a great question and dependent largely on the market and economy. We are committed to building our church. We believe that in the best case scenario this sets us back one year. This allows us to see if the market adjusts while we continue to save for the right time. Also, this gives us an established building where we can grow in a healthy manner. 

 

How can I help or how can I get involved?

There are four ways that you can help or get involved.

• One of the ways we will be able to save money is by completing portions of the buildout ourselves. Be on the lookout for requests to help with demo, clean up, landscaping, and other jobs where we can jump in and help.

• Is there something you can donate? Are you a licensed professional in some area? This will reduce our cost to remodel the building. If you can donate building materials or your labor, please email Jared Carter at jared@soco.church.

• Join a team today! We now see a finish line at Record Downtown. Help us get to that finish line by joining a team today and make sure we transition to our new building well. There are some great opportunities to get involved both at Record and at the S. Walton building. If you haven’t gone through Discovery, now is a great time to sign up for that by scanning the QR code in service or visit www.soco.church.

• Have you pledged to Brick By Brick? If so, hopefully this encourages you to continue your pledge through 2024 as we are committed to building our future home. If you haven’t pledged to Brick By Brick, now is a great time to invest in the future of our church, both in the new S. Walton building and our future home at 14th and Been. You can fill out digital pledge card HERE