Building Project
As a neighborhood church for all people, the members of Clairemont Lutheran Church / Iglesia Luterana Clairemont are called to serve God and neighbor. Part of that service to our community is opening up our church campus for use to several community groups, and providing food distribution and meal programs that feed more than 10,000 San Diego residents each year. And through this project, which began in 2015, we also realized another way we can help our community: affordable housing.
You can view site plans and renderings for the project here. Feel free to contact the church office with any questions you may have.
Donations to the building project are tax deductible and can be made online by clicking the button below or by visiting the church office.
A new center for community gathering
Our current Fellowship Hall building was constructed in 1954. It was the first building to be constructed on the campus of the newly formed congregation, and was the original worship space until construction of the current Sanctuary building was completed in 1966.
Over the years our Fellowship Hall has served the congregation and the community well as a place to have a hot meal, a place for support groups to meet and encourage one another, a place for concerts and receptions, and a place for high school and middle school youth to grow in their faith. But numerous maintenance issues and the need for more space has proven the need for a newer, better facility.
Demolition of the current Fellowship Hall building is slated to begin in August, with construction of the new building to start soon thereafter.
Make sure to check out the building plans an renderings here.
Yes, in God's back yard
The second part of our building project is the construction of an affordable housing building. This two to three story building would be placed right in the church parking lot, which is a portion of the campus that is highly underutilized. This is a small part of what the congregation can do to help San Diego residents get a roof over their heads that they can afford, and once completed, could be the prototype for other faith communities in San Diego as a part of the "Yes, in God's back yard" initiative.
KPBS did a feature story about the project:
Additional campus improvements
Other capital improvements will also be made to the church campus, including planting new vegetation, building new sidewalks and drainage, and the construction of an ADA compliant entrance to the Sanctuary building.
How you can help
You can help support Clairemont Lutheran Church / Iglesia Luterana Clairemont with the building project in a variety of ways:
- Pray for the project, including the permitting and approval processes, the building committee, the architects and construction workers, and for the whole congregation as we undertake this endeavor
- Volunteer - planting new vegetation, helping move in equipment, helping with other maintenance projects around the church campus
- Make a financial contribution
- Visit the campus and join in the celebration as each phase of the project is complete
Please contact the church office with any questions.
Updates
December 2019
The nearly finalized plans for the new Fellowship Hall are out for bid.
The San Diego City Council approved new Land Development Codes which reduce the number of parking spaces churches need, which could pave the way for the Affordable Housing project.
September 2019
Renovation work on Luther Hall has begun as a necessary step to transition some ministries over there temporarily while we prepare to vacate the Fellowship Hall.
Engineering changes to the Fellowship Hall plans have been made in accordance with city regulators and utility companies.
March 2019
We now have an updated floor plan of the first and second floors of the new fellowship hall.
View the plans here.
November 2018
At the annual congregational meeting, the architect and the Building Committee presented the latest information on the project. In order to better navigate the city's regulatory process, the project was split in two, meaning the first building project will be that of a new Fellowship Hall and the second project will be that of an Apartment Building, which will require further neighborhood review and permitting. This allows the congregation to begin work on the Fellowship Hall project much sooner.
The Building Committee also presented the idea of converting Room 2 in Luther Hall into a "warming kitchen" which would be used for making coffee, warming foods and food storage during demolition and construction.
The Building Committee also presented two resolutions, which the Church Council supported. The first resolution was to move forward with the final plans and permitting process of the Fellowship Hall building, and the second resolution was to move forward with the plans, permitting and neighborhood review process for the Apartment Building. Both resolutions passed. Barring any other issues, demolition of the current Fellowship Hall and construction of the new fellowship hall building should begin mid-2019.
September 2018
Over the last three months we did a parking study of the daily use of our church campus parking. While we currently have less parking spaces than local ordinances require, our parking lot is not used to full capacity. The findings have been given to the city for further review. The city is enforcing parking regulations for all new building projects.
June 2018
Our Building Committee members met with a representative from the architect to go over updates to some of the plans, specifically the kitchen. You can see the new kitchen plans here. We are still waiting to hear back from the city on the permitting process since the church already has a conditional use permit for a previously planned project.
March 2018
Utility Markouts were made.
Geological Survey performed.
February 2018
Meeting with architect. Congregation voted to go ahead with project, and begin work on permitting and submitting initial plans to the city.