First Baptist Church | Sweetwater, Texas Historic Preservation

A few months back, construction completed at the First Baptist Church in Sweetwater, TX. The building we re-designed was the church's original 1923 sanctuary that, through the years had seen its fair share of hodge-podged renovations.

What the church was lacking was sufficient space for an education meeting, as well as a general meeting area aside from their current sanctuary. Directly adjacent to the new sanctuary, the original building (pictured below) was a maze of classrooms and closets, none of which were meeting the needs of the congregation.

The building was completely renovated inside and out, tastefully incorporating modern design with historic elements or the structure. The graceful curves of the original stairwell and entry foyer were beautifully restored and an elevator was added for convenient access to all four levels. Renovations included 16 classrooms, a large conference room, and 1800 square foot assembly area, a visitor's center, 3 full kitchens, large accessible restrooms on each level, modern doors, windows, and finish materials, and energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems.

Here are some of the before are after pictures:

Before

After

Before

After

 Before

 After

Before

After

Before - the original choir loft was still in place and just beyond the balcony rail was jackpot of wasted space for the third floor of the building.

Before - this was the largest classroom in the building. With minimal natural light, an oddly placed column, and dark colors, the space was limiting.

A few photos while the building was still in progress. The church essentially gained an entire floor when the choir loft and empty attic space was converted to useable square footage through the addition of new steal beams.

A look down one of the corridors to see the colors coming together.

Another hallway - After

 Hallway on the main level - After

New Restroom facilities throughout

New large classroom with moveable wall partition to allow the room to double in size.

Another large assembly classroom located on the second floor.

Youth room located on the second floor (unused attic above) - before

Youth Room on the new third floor - after

And a shot of the sanctuary at night for the church.

This project was a HUGE success and came in at $134.37/square foot thanks to the hard work of the following firms:

Architecture & Civil/Structural Engineering: CADCO Architects-Engineers, Inc. - Abilene, TX
Consultants: Fratto Engineering - Arlington, TX (Mechanical/Plumbing Engineering); Yaggi Engineering - Arlington, TX (Electrical Engineering)
Construction Manager at Risk: W.B. Kibler Construction Co. - Dallas, TX
And of course, the wonderful people at First Baptist Church - Sweetwater, TX