Community Center

With the architect in preliminary design and planning stages, the Good Shepherd Community Center continues on schedule for an August 2007 groundbreaking.

Here’s some background on how we got to this point:

ARCHITECT
In February, the Good Shepherd Building Committee selected Horst Terrill & Karst Architects of Overland Park to lead the project. The firm was chosen from an initial group of nine that had answered the request for proposal and a subsequent group of three finalists. HTK brings significant experience with school facilities, in particular Catholic schools, and with completing projects on time and on budget. You can learn more about the firm and its projects at www.htkarchitects.com. It's architects Mark Franzen and Gordon Kimble then joined the committee.

FOCUS GROUPS
In March, HTK architects Mark Franzen and Gordon Kimble facilitated six focus group sessions at the school. They aimed to accomplish two related objectives: To help us figure out what our priorities for the center should be, and to help the architects then create a design that served those priorities.

The building committee assembled parishioners from a cross-section of groups to help determine what we would like to have and what we could afford. The focus group categories were: large events, finance, fund raising, school staff, church staff, sports and “general doers.” Each session lasted about 45 minutes, though most participants seemed eager to go even longer. A simple principle guided each session: Our community center should be a place to play, a place to eat, a place to meet and a place to perform.

Here’s a broad recap of the consensus that emerged and design that followed based on input.

Layout – The community center will sit in the greenspace on the east side of the school, with the main entrance facing the south. The center will include multipurpose meeting rooms, a stage and as much storage as is architecturally possible and affordable. The center will include a kitchen, and PE office. A donor wall and trophy display cases prominently located. The design will create a courtyard between the school and community center, which will allow daylight into the east-facing classrooms.

Gym – The gym will comply with CYO rules about ceiling height and floor area. The floor will be wood, bleachers will eventually be on one side only, facing the stage on the opposite side. No locker rooms are needed. The gym will subdivide into two practice courts, requiring a total of six basketball goals of adjustable height. We will use volleyball nets affixed to the ceiling rather than anchored to the floor.

Stage – The stage will be on the side, rather than on one of the ends of the building. No changing rooms are needed; adjacent multipurpose rooms will suffice. The stage will be permanent rather than portable.

Multipurpose rooms – This space will have access to the gym and/or lobby and rooms will be able to subdivide for smaller group meetings.

Kitchen – The kitchen space will be used for serving only, rather than preparation. The kitchen should open into the gymnasium as well as the lobby.

Storage – Many groups expressed an interest in having storage in the community center, including but not limited to CYO, PE, Scouts, Ram Time, church staff and school staff. We will have direct access to some interior storage from outside the center.

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FINANCING
Faithful giving has kept our contributions on pace to reach our halfway point of $1.4 million by midsummer, which will allow for an August groundbreaking.

GROUNDBREAKING
The archbishop has confirmed that he will attend our groundbreaking ceremony at 4:30 p.m., August 18, followed by Mass.

GOOD SHEPHERD BUILDING COMMITTEE
If you have any questions about our Community Center, feel free to contact a committee member. Committee members are: Father Francis, Chairman Hal Von Wyl, Dan Beattie, Jack Carson, Dion Gartner, Russell Gray, Mel Lavery, Jan Lewis, Mary Losik, Ann McGuff, Mike Meurer, Beverly O'Connor, Gene Russell, Mark Sherwin and Jim Starshak.