Grace Lutheran Church
Location: Clark Boulevard, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Project Scope: Phase 1 expansion
For the past seven years, the congregation, with Senior Pastor Carl Wenck, has been working on what’s next for its facilities first established in 1960. Now, the congregation is just about ready to move forward with Phase I, a sanctuary expansion, finished as-is in 1962, more than 50 years ago.
“This whole conversation began because of some major maintenance we needed to do in the sanctuary,” Pastor Wenck said. “The discussion grew and expanded to how we can increase our overall accessibility and ability to be welcoming to the community.”
Fast forward to a newly articulated mission and vision, a master plan for the property, a capital campaign and a three-phase physical growth plan. Phase I, set to begin later this year, expands the sanctuary to 160 seats from 100 seats, removes the upstairs balcony in the sanctuary and increases the natural light. Phase II will move the main church entrance, upgrade access and architectural features, remodel existing education and office facilities, and install a glassed-in hallway as a key connector. Phase III will add even more seats to the sanctuary, expanding it to 260 seats.
“We knew we wanted a construction company with strong ties to middle Tennessee, who lives and works right here. Through our search, we narrowed to four firms, and Dow Smith Company rose to the top. Dow and his team showed they were listening all the way, and took the time to learn what we are about here. They offered options that had a strong foundation of thought behind them.””
After growing up in Washington State and working construction for most of his life, Joel Tellez wound up in Smyrna, where he became a superintendent for Olympian Construction. One day, he was sitting in the pickup line at Thurman Francis Arts Academy in his work truck when Dow Smith—who also had kids at the school—came over and struck up a conversation. A few months later, Joel was working at DSC. Last week, he celebrated 20 years with the company.