Today, many people across the Tri-Valley area call CrossWinds their church home. There are over 50 different ministries at CrossWinds designed to meet people where they are at in their spiritual lives, and to impact our community with the love of Christ. CrossWinds recently adopted a new mission statement, and in case you haven't heard it, the mission of CrossWinds Church is to:
Know Jesus
Love Jesus, and
Reflect Jesus
in our communities and world.
A practical side to this mission statement is the need for the church to have a place where we can gather. For the past 15 years, CrossWinds has rented an industrial warehouse in Dublin to provide the facilities necessary to meet together, worship together, and work together to fulfill our God-given mission.
OUR CURRENT FACILITY
Though we are thankful for the Sierra Court location, holding church in an industrial warehouse has presented some unique challenges. Over the years at this warehouse, the church has struggled with issues related to parking, adequate facilities for special services and events, sightline and acoustic issues in our Auditorium and meeting rooms, our "hidden" location on a dead-end street, an aging plumbing and air conditioning system, lack of space in our children's classrooms, and many other facility-related challenges.
On top of all that, the church makes a significant rent payment each month for the 60,000 square feet we use on Sierra Court. With the size of the annual rent payment, it became even more evident that there was a compelling need to purchase something to accommodate the church's long-term use.
THE PROPERTY
In 1997, the church purchased an undeveloped 25-acre parcel off the El Charro exit in Livermore. Our parcel is adjacent to the western property boundary of the golf driving range that can be seen from the 580 freeway. In order for development to occur on this parcel, there were some significant problems that needed to be solved related to flood control, roadway access, utility service, environmental issues, and litigation from two nearby landowners.
Over the years, the church has worked with the City of Livermore and other property owners on our street to resolve these problems and prepare this area for development. The City approved the El Charro Specific Plan, which is the planning document that allows the church project and the other properties on our street to develop. As part of that Plan, the City asked the church to move over two properties to the former dairy property at the end of the road, so that the first four properties on the street could build out as a consistent retail block. The church agreed to do that, and we have entered into a Purchase Agreement to, in the future, buy the 36-acre property.
WHEN CAN WE START BUILDING?
In order for the church project to begin construction on the new property, four things need to happen next:
1. Get a building permit: The church needs to prepare our building permit application for the first phase of our project, and submit that to the City for approval.
2. Fund the infrastructure: The City of Livermore is issuing $40 million worth of municipal bonds to fund the infrastructure development on our street. The City needs to issue and sell these bonds to raise the cash to build the roadways, utility lines, and flood control facilities our group of properties needs to develop. This will take some time to sell all of these bonds.
3. Start building the Outlet Mall: The outlet mall project down the street from the church property is contributing $11 million in cash towards the infrastructure development. The City needs this cash, plus the municipal bond money, to build the infrastructure.
4. Fund the project: Financing needs to be arranged for the church to purchase the new parcel, install the parking lots and landscaping, and build the new church structure. This will most likely happen through a combination of selling our existing parcel, raising resources through a capital campaign, and obtaining a bank loan.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MEANTIME?
CrossWinds continues to offer our existing 25-acre parcel in the El Charro area for sale. With the downturn in the economy, it may take some time for the church to find a large retail business capable of purchasing this land. In the interim, the church has started leasing the new property we are moving to, as our purchase contract for this property was expiring. The church Elder Board did not wish to purchase the new property until the old parcel sold, so we've preserved our purchase option by starting the lease.
For many years, this new property was an operating dairy. There are a number of structures on site the church intends to re-use, and we are in the process of removing debris and cleaning up the property preparing for the church use. If you would like to volunteer to assist during clean-up days, please let us know by contacting our Project Manager, Dave Nielsen.
CONTACT INFORMATION
We will continue to provide informational updates as the building project moves forward. Thank you for your prayers concerning God's work at CrossWinds Church, and for the building project. If you would like further information about these issues, please contact our Building Project Manager, Dave Nielsen, at (925) 560-3834, or e-mail him at dnielsen@crosswindschurch.org
Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)
Copyright 2009 (photos by CWC Photography Team), CrossWinds Church, 6444 Sierra Court, Dublin CA 94568, 925-560-3800 kkennedy@crosswindschurch.org
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