LifeSpring Community Christian Church's minister says the facility on Carolina Trace Road will be more than a church.
A rendering of Lifespring Community Christian Church's proposed new church on Carolina Trace Road. Image via LifeSpring.
(Harrison, Oh.) - Harrison City Council has signed off on a proposed new church which its minister says will be a community space.
LifeSpring Community Christian Church is planning to build a new church on a 10-acre tract on Carolina Trace Road just south of New Haven Road. Currently, the church calls the former roller rink on Broadway Street in downtown Harrison its home.
Harrison City Council on Tuesday, June 18 voted 6-1 to give final approval to the planned unit development – or PUD – plan of the new LifeSpring church. The approval came with the conditional that the church get approval from the city tree board on adequate landscaping around the building as a consideration toward neighboring homes.
Senior minister Jeff Duerler told city council members the church will have a 350-seat auditorium, coffee shop, indoor playground, public meeting spaces, and a non-denominational Christian early learning center.
“When we considered the location of our property on what is a major transportation corridor between the northern neighborhoods and the New Haven business zones, both of which call for the consideration of activity center development per the comprehensive plan, we shifted out thinking about this space from being a traditional church structure to something that also serves as a public service activity center,” said Duerler.
A later phase of the church project could include a recreational center. LifeSpring has been in discussions with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati to partner on the rec center piece.
“Our vision is also to use our ideal location to provide a full-fledged recreational center facility to serve our community,” said Duerler, adding that could be with the YMCA or some other means.
The design of LifeSpring’s new building won’t be that of a traditional church with a steeple or bell tower. Duerler said the architecture will reflect that of the nearby Harrison branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
“We are not trying to present something that’s institutional or liturgical because that, we believe, incorrectly represents the building’s usage,” he said.
The new church site is next door to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church’s new church, which began hosting services earlier this month. Duerler said LifeSpring will coordinate with St. John about service times so as to avoid traffic congestion.
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