Christian Heritage plans to replace unused chapel with athletic facilities

A Northfield institution’s plans for an “essential expansion,” fueled by its years-long fundraising campaign, are advancing.

Northfield’s Architectural Commission during its Monday, July 13 meeting gave its stamp of approval to Christian Heritage Academy’s vision to add extensive square footage to its footprint in the 300 block of Waukegan Road.

The Christian school is planning to demolish its on-campus chapel and replace it with a new 14,800-square-foot gym as well as a 1,978-square-foot extension of its administration building. The soon-to-be-razed chapel and adjoining corridor are just over 3,630 square feet.

Representatives from Christian Heritage Academy in both formal documents submitted to the village and public testimony Monday night, said the school has “maxed out” usage of its current gymnasium and student center.

The new building, which the school has coined in submitted documents as an “activity center,” would create critical space to “meet current physical education and athletic needs, with room to enhance our community footprint,” school officials say.

Additionally, school representatives noted the academy’s overextended use of its current gym for physical education classes has in cases of inclement weather and winter time forced early education and lower school students to run activities in the building’s hallways.

Middle and Upper school sports teams are also currently competing for the same gym space, which has led to practice and game times being “compromised as teams are forced to shuttle off campus to local gyms or churches,” the school’s website says.

According to project plans, the new facility would feature telescoping seating and a retractable divider and would reach a size big enough to simultaneously host two full-court basketball games and four volleyball games.

“Such a space will equip CHA to better train up our students as followers of Jesus ready for the world in ways we’ve not been able to train them up before,” says Joe Torgerson, Christian Heritage’s head of school, in a promotional video on the school’s website.

The project also includes the construction of a new half-court outdoor basketball court for student use during recess, noted Joan Russick, the project manager, of OKW Architects.

Christian Heritage’s new gym would serve as the school’s primary one while the current, roughly 200-seat gym would remain intact but no longer be used to host games.

While detailing the school’s efforts to village officials, Russick said Christian Heritage does not use the existing chapel, which seats about 100 and was constructed between 1966-’67. She added the chapel has “fallen into significant disrepair.”

The volume of the building, Russick noted, is “driven by one thing and that is the functional requirements of the school to play competitive volleyball and basketball and meet the requirements thereof.” Russick added the “simplicity of the building is driven by budget.”

According to Christian Heritage Academy officials, the new activity center will cost $6.7 million. The school is funding the project through its Train Up initiative, a $12 million capital campaign launched more than three years ago.

Christian Heritage’s fundraising effort also aims to pay off $2.6 million of the school’s current debt as well as put $2.7 million toward the “Lion Fund,” which supplies “critical resources” to continue the school’s commitment to student financial aid and programming.

So far, the school’s fundraising efforts have brought in $9.66 million, or 80% percent of its $12 million goal. Reaching that total means ground-breaking on the new activity center can begin this fall, the school says, with the goal of completing the project during the fall of 2027.

In response to a resident’s question raising concerns about removing the chapel, Andy Bulluck, chairman of the school’s board of directors, said the decision to do so was a difficult one.

“We did not want to lose the chapel, but given the constraints of how much it’s actually used and the state that it’s currently in and also what we felt would be the greatest stewardship opportunity for us for our limited budget, we made the decision that it was best to say goodbye to the chapel,” he said Monday night.

The project — which requires multiple code variations — still needs final approval from Northfield’s Village Board. Trustees are expected to review the plan at an upcoming meeting.

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