Downers Grove church on track for new building
Belmont Bible Church in Downers Grove appears to be closer to its goal to construct a new building.
The two-story, 32,000-square-foot structure would be home to a combined church and school on the southwest corner of Belmont Road and Inverness Avenue.
Mayor Bob Barnett and commissioners in virtual attendance at a Tuesday village council meeting expressed support for the project.
"I'm excited there's something to start our year off with optimism," Barnett said. "In this time, people are still wanting to invest in our community, make improvements to our community, and this is a good thing."
In an interview after the meeting, Pastor Mark Moore said the new building's first floor would house worship services. On the second floor, 10,000 square feet would be dedicated to a preschool, a K-12 school and other office space.
"Our hope is to be the gold standard in the Southwest suburbs of private Christian school education for the community and the surrounding area," Moore said.
The worship space would be built as part of the first phase, Moore said, with construction tentatively scheduled to begin sometime this year. School construction would be a second-phase project.
To make way for the new building, Moore said, the current church at 5430 Belmont Road and a nearby single-family house would be demolished. He added that Belmont Bible Church likely would rent meeting space from another church during construction.
Moore would not comment on the anticipated budget for the new building.
During Tuesday's meeting, Downers Grove Community Development Director Stan Popovich shared site maps and architectural renderings from Excel Architects, based in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.
Just under 2 acres in unincorporated DuPage County on the Downers Grove border would need to be annexed into the village.
Popovich said the parking lot would be constructed of permeable pavers to meet the village's stormwater ordinance.
He added that Belmont Bible Church intends to plant 16 native trees as a replacement for a large honey locust tree that would need to be removed from the north end of the site. Popovich said the church would pay for the tree's removal.
A few commissioners expressed concern about whether the tree could be saved. Other commissioners who visited the site reported on the tree's distressed appearance.
"There is one very huge visible scar that runs about halfway down the tree to almost the base," Commissioner Marge Earl said. "And there is significant insect damage inside that scar."
Popovich said the condition of the tree would be investigated before the next village council meeting, Jan. 12. A vote to approve Belmont Bible Church's new building plans is set for that date.