Vineyard Community Church

 

 

We hope to raise $1.2M to renovate the building you see above.  It’s an old fire station, located in a great West Philly neighborhood, and we plan to use it as a community center and worship space.  

Since our founding in the fall of 2004, Vineyard Community Church (VCC) has been dreaming of establishing a permanent location in West Philadelphia where we could lay down roots, invest in the community, and worship God. Our prayers were answered this past July with the purchase of an amazing property at 123 S. 51st Street. The new building is located just off of “West Philly’s Main Street,” 52nd Street. This street has, for generations, been the heart of West Philadelphia, providing at one time the largest retail shopping district in this part of the city. It is easily accessible by the Market Street El, which has a station there, and is within walking distance of vibrant neighborhoods, including Cedar Park, Garden Court, Walnut Hill, Dunlap, Cobbs Creek, Haddington and Spruce Hill. The new building is just blocks away from the new West Philadelphia High School at 49th & Chestnut and right next door to the West Market Post Office.

 

A Welcoming Environment: The design of the remodel allows us to do two very important things. First, by reopening the two front bay doors, we are embracing and celebrating the history of the building. At one time, the facility functioned as a firehouse for the neighborhood. Firehouses have served for generations as sources of security and community gathering spaces. By returning the design of the building to this form we are helping the building serve its original purpose. At the same time, the large glass entryways allow neighbors and community members to see into our new lobby and gathering space, communicating that the space is open and welcoming to the whole neighborhood.

Room for Everyone: Remodeling will also allow us to create a much larger gathering space with multipurpose capability. As the building is currently laid out it can accommodate no more than about 100 people in any given space at any given time. By removing portions of two walls, we can open enough space to accommodate up to 200, making more room for people to gather for worship and allowing us to open the space to larger events for the West Philadelphia community.

Inspiring Worship Space: “Let the light shine in!” One of the great discoveries of the new building was an overhead skylight that had been hidden by a drop ceiling. Our design reopens this feature so that natural light will shine down into the main gathering space on the main floor of the building. This combined with modern lighting, sound, and visual updates will help create a space that is not only functional for worship services, weddings, and prayer meetings, but inspiring.

Community Engagement: The design is meant to be as adaptable and have as many multipurpose design elements as possible. On the first floor, sliding or retractable panels allow for the space to be reshaped to fit different types of gatherings and meetings. On the second floor, a galley kitchen is planned that will allow for functions that involve food (mmmmm!) and could provide a space for startup kitchen ventures. In addition, a proposed roof deck provides yet another unique and attractive gathering space with a great view of Philadelphia. All of these feature will help to make the new building a hub for community gatherings of all shapes and sizes.