The First Church Parish House is part of the church’s historic 1914 campus. Over the past several generations, the building has been carved up for various new uses as the church expanded into the adjoining lot. This plan condenses the church’s ministry back into the Parish House building, with new spaces that reflect its current ministry endeavors: food insecurity, hospitality and education.
The Community Kitchen is envisioned as a home to several organizations currently operating out of the existing First Church kitchen. These organizations prepare thousands of free meals and provide food service job training. This plan relocates the kitchen to the most prominent corner of the building, making the ministry visible to the community it serves. In addition to providing larger and more modern cooking and food storage capacity, this plan introduces new spaces for clientele to gather and eat, offering a small dining facility and patio.
This ground floor space serves as both a lobby and welcoming area, and a dining and gathering space. Adjacent to a new courtyard, elevator, kitchen, and parking facility, the Reception Room is envisioned as a vital part of the church’s weekly life and an amenity that can be easily shared with the community.
The second floor of the Parish House is home to offices, classrooms, meeting rooms and workspaces. In a campus where so much of the space is open to the community at large, the second-floor suites are designed for use by the church community for conducting its own operations.
First Church has always had a large social space that it has shared with the community. This plan envisions restoration of the church’s original third floor Fellowship Hall, and the introduction of new restrooms, elevator, egress stairs and a catering kitchen to make this beautiful space accessible and convenient.