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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFOOTHILLS UNITARIAN CHURCH EXPANSION - FDP210027 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - DESIGN NARRATIVE FOOTHILLS UNITARIAN CHURCH EXPANSION Project Information and Design Narrative November 10, 2021 1. Project Title · Foothills Unitarian Church Expansion 2. Past meeting dates · Conceptual Review meeting was held on July 11, 2019 · Neighborhood meeting was held virtually on June 2, 2021 3. General information The project location is a 3-acre site at 1815 Yorktown Avenue. The lot is zoned Low-Density Residential (R-L) and this will not change. This project is an expansion of an existing church on the same site. The existing building is 16,408 square feet on two levels, and the proposed expansion is 13,177 square feet (also on two levels). Per the building code definition of a multi-story building, this building is considered one story (the lower level is mostly below grade and therefore does not count as a second story), but the building does have two levels, and the lower level is a walk-out facing Drake Road. The current building has a Sanctuary that seats approximately 180 people, a Social Hall that is approximately 1500 square feet, an Administration wing with 5 offices, and an Education wing with 14 classrooms on two levels that are smaller than ideal. This project includes: 1. New Sanctuary with up to 388 seats when packed full (more like 300 with a typical chair layout on a typical Sunday) 2. The existing Sanctuary will become the Social Hall 3. The existing Social Hall will become the Main Lobby 4. The existing Admin wing will remain as-is, but the existing Lobby area will be repurposed as an open office area, so there is a small expansion of the office area 5. The existing Education wing will remain as-is 6. The space below the new Sanctuary will be unfinished, but is planned as an expansion of the Education space in the future, and will include a 100-seat chapel that can be accessed through a separate entrance from the exterior Parking is currently provided in two lots, one on the east side and one on the west side of the building, both are accessed from Yorktown Avenue on the north side of the property. These existing lots contain 99 parking stalls, and this will remain. Per the parking requirements of Fort Collins, one space is required for every four seats in the Sanctuary, so a 388-seat sanctuary requires 97 off-street parking stalls. See more discussion of the transportation section and the neighborhood meeting concerns below. Foothills Unitarian Church Project Information and Design Narrative No land use modification is proposed. The site is a church now and will remain a church. 4. Existing & Proposed Owners · Foothills Unitarian Church is the current owner of the property, and this will not change. 5. Transportation Improvements · No large-scale transportation improvements are planned with this project, however the following modifications will impact some types of transportation: i. The number of accessible parking stalls is increasing to meet current code requirements. ii. The sidewalks along Yorktown Drive and Yorktown Avenue will be widened, improving pedestrian transportation. iii. Along with the sidewalk widening, the existing rollover curb will change to a vertical curb. iv. The edge of sidewalk along Yorktown Drive will move further west, making the street approximately one foot narrower. The city has confirmed that Yorktown Drive is wider than currently required, and the city forester has agreed that moving the sidewalk eastward into the mature vegetation would negatively impact the vegetation. v. At the sidewalk on the north side of the east parking lot, there is a lot of mature vegetation that would also be negatively impacted if the sidewalk is widened in toward these plants. At this location we are proposing a 4’ wide sidewalk (4’-6” wide when the 6” curb is included in the width). The new sidewalk will not include a concrete drainage pan and instead will create a new sidewalk the width of the existing sidewalk and curb. vi. The church is encouraging carpooling, bike-riding, walking, and public transportation in order to reduce the environmental impact of the facility. 6. Neighborhood Meeting Concerns · Parking was raised as a concern at the neighborhood meeting. While it is acknowledged that a typical Sunday results in full parking lots and cars parking on the street, it was noted during the neighborhood meeting: i. Parking only overflows the off-street parking lots on Sunday mornings. ii. The church has, in the past (pre-Covid), changed to three services on Sundays due to the small Sanctuary, and the short time between services has resulted in many cars coming and going at the same time. A larger Sanctuary will allow a return to two services on Sunday mornings with a longer time between services, so the first service cars will be able to leave before the second service cars arrive. iii. Parking on the streets is allowed and that is one of the functions of the street. iv. The Fort Collins code requires one parking space per four seats in the Sanctuary, and this project meets that requirement. · Exterior color was raised as a concern by one person. We do not share this concern, and feel that the exterior colors are appropriate and attractive. The colors shown on the drawings are approximate and the final color will be selected during construction. Foothills Unitarian Church Project Information and Design Narrative 7. Site design / building placement · Many designs for the project were considered, and this design was selected because: i. The current church is in two separate buildings. Connecting these buildings so there is one cohesive design is extremely important. ii. The addition mostly impacts the view of the building from Drake Road, an arterial street, and has very little impact on the residential neighborhood to the north. 8. Disturbance of Natural Features · The current site has mature landscaping that creates a park-like atmosphere, and the goal of this project is to maintain that to the extent feasible. · There are 16 trees that must be removed to make room for the addition and grading for the detention pond. i. Several of these trees are near the end of life and must be removed no matter what. ii. The trees removed require a total of 24 replacement trees iii. 21 new trees will be planted to replace the trees being removed. iv. 3 trees will be added off site. 9. Transition Techniques · The addition is as close to Drake Road as possible, minimizing the impact on the residential neighbors to the north. 10. Architectural Design · The exterior appearance is designed to blend with and accentuate the existing building. · The single-slope (shed) roof with clerestory windows at the main sanctuary area (see note 1C in the following images) mimics shed roofs with clerestory windows in two other areas of the existing building (1A & 1B). · Split-face concrete masonry units (CMU) are visible on the existing Sanctuary (2A), and are used on the exterior and interior of the addition (2B & 2C). · Stucco exterior finish is used on the remaining wall finish (3C & 3D), which is the same material used on most of the existing building (3A & 3B). The color of the new stucco is a deeper and richer color, with the hopes that the rest of the building can be changed in the future to match this color. · All new windows are high performing wood interior and aluminum exterior (4A). The southwest facing windows in the sanctuary connect the space to the outside, with exterior shading devices sheltering the space from direct sun during the morning hours. · The sloped roof is standing seam metal (5A), because this roof is a long-lasting and beautiful roof, and because photovoltaic panels easily clip to the standing seams. · Sustainability has been a guiding design principle through the entire design process, and is incorporated in many ways: i. All exterior walls and roofs have above-code insulation to create a tight exterior envelope and minimize energy usage. Foothills Unitarian Church Project Information and Design Narrative ii. The heating and cooling system is all-electric (no new natural gas used in the building) using air-source heat pump technology. This system will also serve the two largest spaces in the existing building (the existing Sanctuary and Social Hall, which are being reused as the new Social Hall and Lobby, respectively). See 6A in the images for the roof-mounted equipment. iii. Photovoltaic panels (5A) will generate electricity to offset the energy used in the building. iv. New landscaping will be drought tolerant. v. Interior finishes, plumbing fixtures, and more all focus on sustainable aspects. · The rooftop mechanical equipment is placed on a flat roof in the center of the building to limit the visibility from the surrounding streets, with raised parapet walls to fully shield them from view. Foothills Unitarian Church Project Information and Design Narrative 11. Phasing Schedule · The entire project will be built in one phase, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2022 and complete by the end of 2022. 12. Existing items not included in the new design · Bicycle parking is existing at the church and will be reused. The location of the bicycle parking is changed slightly so that it does not use a vehicle parking stall, and the rack will be permanently fixed. · Trash & Recycling is existing and will be maintained.