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Our History - Hope South Campus

The Mission and Vision of Hope Lutheran Church is to carry out Christ’s Great Commission by reaching out to all people to bring them to faith. Hope has always been focused on expanding our opportunities in The Villages community and surrounding areas to “To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known”.


In recent years, the expansive growth of the southern portion of The Villages has placed Hope in a position to embrace this growth and spread the Word of God and the message of Jesus Christ. We, as members of Hope, are messengers of our Mission and Vision to others in sharing our faith.


Because of this great potential, Hope began discussions with The Villages in 2016 to explore purchasing a parcel of vacant land in the southern portion of The Villages. Even then, our goal was to allow Hope to expand its ministry to the building of a permanent church campus. These discussions were comprehensive and involved many possible alternatives. In 2014, Hope had purchased a 28-acre parcel of land located south of CR44 and north of the Florida Turnpike in the Wildwood, Florida area from Youth Challenge of America and was the landlord to City of Hope International, Inc, a not-for-profit corporation, known as House of Hope. The Villages decided that it wanted to obtain this property and offered to transfer a prime 8.25-acre parcel of land in its southern expansion area to Hope Lutheran Church in exchange for the 28-acre parcel owned by Hope.


After extensive negotiations, Hope and The Villages executed an Exchange Agreement in January 2019 through which the House of Hope property would be transferred to The Villages and an 8.25 parcel of vacant land in the new southern area of the Villages would be transferred to Hope. The value of each of the exchanged properties was two million dollars.


The transaction was finalized on July 31, 2019, at which time Hope became the legal owner of the 8.25-acre parcel, the Hope South Campus property. At the time of this closing, a Post Closing Agreement was executed between the parties in which The Villages agreed to complete certain improvements, including the construction of Meggison Road, extending the golf cart path to the property line, and connecting utilities to the property.


In March 2021 all the obligations of The Villages to Hope Lutheran Church under the Post Closing Agreement were completed, giving Hope full access to the 8.25-acre Hope South Campus site.


As part of the Exchange Agreement, Hope was given the right to use The Villages Recreation Centers for conducting worship services. Hope first started holding worship services at Rohan Recreation Center; subsequently The Villages permitted Hope to conduct worship services at the Everglades Recreation Center, located near Hope’s South Campus site, when it opened. Hope will continue to hold services there until its new church building is constructed.


In June 2020, the Church Council approved the formation of the Building Committee to execute the Mission and Vision of Hope Lutheran Church for Hope South Campus as directed by the Church Council. It also approved $25,000 for the initial expenses anticipated to be incurred by the Building Committee for the South Campus (marketing materials, equipment, maintenance, signage, gates and architectural fees for preliminary designs).


The Building Committee interviewed several architectural firms for this purpose and received proposals from these firms in November 2020. Dickerson Architects from Leesburg, Florida was selected as the firm for this preliminary design phase based on its past experience in designing church facilities similar in scope with Hope’s projected plans. Judd Dickerson and his firm have established relationships with local contractors and engineers and a favorable performance record in working with The Villages and with The Villages Architectural Review Board.


In January 2021, the Church Council approved the execution of a Preliminary Site Plan Proposal submitted by Judd Dickerson of Dickerson Architects. Dickerson Architects developed a preliminary design rendering (illustration or conceptual visualization of the architectural design) based on the project scope of work provided by the Building Committee. In May 2021, the firm provided two design schemes which were the same approximate size and cost. The total project square footage was approximately 37,000 sf, a sanctuary seating capacity of 600 and a building construction cost of $7.5-8 million and a total building cost of approximately $12 million dollars. Additional costs included in the $12 million figure would typically include site development costs, parking, landscaping, audio visual systems, furniture/fixtures, and soft costs such as architectural/engineering fees, permit fees, legal fees and other administrative fees.


Subsequently, the Church Council reviewed the preliminary design renderings received from Dickerson Architects. It was determined that the proposed design schemes were not realistic from a size and cost perspective. The Building Committee was asked to develop some additional guidelines for a project smaller in size and scope than the initial project scope.


In July 2021, the Church Council approved a proposed contract from GSB Fund Raising Group to conduct a Feasibility Study for the Hope South Campus Building Project. Mike Ward of GBS had worked with and is still working with Hope relative to the Stewardship campaign fundraising activities and therefore Hope was familiar with his firm’s services and quality of work. The purpose of a Feasibility Study is to evaluate the potential financial support for the project. Some initial Feasibility Study work was begun in September, and it is anticipated that the major portion of the Feasibility Study will be conducted in Spring 2022.


Anticipating increased project activity, complexity and involvement, in August 2021 the Church Council approved a new committee structure to supervise the South Campus Building Project. A Hope Strategic Planning Committee was formed, consisting of an Executive Team that reports to the Church Council, five primary committees consisting of the Publicity Committee, the Finance Committee, the Growth/Program Committee, the Fundraising Committee, and the Design/Construction Committee. The Chair of each of these five committees comprise the Steering Committee, and this Steering Committee reports to the Executive Team. All the committees in this new structure are now actively operating.


In September 2021, Dale Fiet, Chair of the Design/Construction Committee, presented a revised conceptual preliminary plan for the South Campus Building Project, which involves two initial building phases. The first phase (Phase 1 Building Project) consists of the construction of a small building of approximately 1500 sf called the Activity Center. This Activity Center would be a permanent multi-phase building establishing a visible presence for Hope Lutheran on the narrow northern end of the South Campus. This would be a place to conduct some church activities that cannot be conducted at the Everglades Recreation Center. The Church Council approved up to $30,000 for design fees and other related expenses for the schematic design of the Activity Center.


The second phase (Phase 2 Major Church Building Project) is a reduction in size and cost of the original scope of the preliminary renderings completed by Dickerson Architects in May 2021. This proposal consists of a church building of approximately 25,000 sf, sanctuary seating capacity of 400-450, a projected building cost of $5 million and a total project cost of $8 million. The tentative “estimated timeline” for each project would be completion of the Activity Center by the end of 2022 and the completion of the Major Church Building Project by the end of 2024.The Church Council agreed that the Phase 1 and the Phase 2 Building Projects should be discussed and investigated in further detail.


In October 2021, the Church Council authorized Dickerson Architects to prepare preliminary design plans for the 1500 sf Activity Center with a building cost not to exceed $300,000., infrastructure and other related costs not to exceed $100,000, for a total project cost not to exceed $400,000. A proposal from Dickerson Architects for these services was signed in November 2022. In addition, the Church Council authorized the Design/Building Committee to obtain a proposal from Dickerson Architects for conceptual preliminary drawings for the Phase 2 Major Church Building Project.


To provide Dickerson Architects input as to the design, structure, operations and functions of the Phase 2 Major Church Building, the Church Council approved the formation of subcommittees to obtain subject matter content about this building project. The following initial subcommittees have been formed to facilitate this effort: Worship/Music; Administrative/Education; Fellowship/Recreation; and Outside/Maintenance. These subcommittees report to the Executive Team. The initial task of these subcommittees is to provide requested information, after Church Council review and approval, to Dickerson Architects by the end of January 2022.


In December 2021, the Church Council reviewed an updated informational booklet about the Activity Center (Phase 1 Building Project) as revised by Dale Fiet. This information will be used to inform and to educate the members of Hope about the details of this proposed Activity Center and the possible uses of the Activity Center for meetings, entertainment, music, education classes, food activities and miscellaneous other purposes.


In January 2022, the Church Council approved the recommendation of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Phase 2 Church Building Project as described in the Hope Lutheran Church South Building Program revised by Dale Fiet on January 24, 2022. The Church Council also authorized Dickerson Architects to prepare preliminary design plans based on these recommendations.


More updates come everyday, so stay tuned to learn more about our Hope South Campus project!

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Hope Lutheran Church

250 Avenida los Angelos, The Villages, FL 32162

(352) 750-2321 hope4all.church