Mineola Village Board Approves Church Expansion

Plans for the expansion of the Grace International Assembly of God are going forward after receiving approval from the Mineola Village Board at its meeting on June 12.

The church had come before the board seeking a special use permit for the demolition of the existing eastern portion of the church, which was built in the 1950’s at 172 Willis Ave., and expansion of the original church which was constructed in 1889 by about 4,760 sq. ft.

The congregation is reportedly increasing by about 120 people to 220.

The church was originally built in 1899 with an extension added about six years ago. Plans call for that expansion to be demolished and increasing the area of the church itself. The existing portion to be removed is 648 sq. ft. while the new addition is a total of 9,322 sq. ft. consisting of two floors, including a cellar. The lot coverage would also increase 1,500 sq. ft. 

The board made the granting of the permit conditional upon the requirements that the addition is necessary to provide the church with better accessibility, restroom facilities and parishioner use, that additional restrooms and classrooms will be added for a total of six, that no for-profit business will be conducted on the property and the church will not rent or lease the property for non-church related activities.

The church currently has two toilet rooms of two fixtures each. The new facility would allow handicapped accessibility on the first floor and another restroom in the cellar. An elevator would be provided for handicapped accessibility to the basement and ramps to the main floor. The cellar would also house additional classrooms for sunday school. The church currently has one classroom. Classrooms would only be used on Sundays. A kitchen would also be located in the basement to cook full meals.

On the main floor there would also be a nursery area for young children during services. The second floor of the church would have an audio/visual room for the main stage of the church while other areas would be used for storage.

The parking lot will also be reconfigured by access points and curb cuts will not be changed.

Bids for the project are anticipating a $800,000 to $1 million cost and construction is anticipated to begin in the fall, though it may be delayed due to the review process at the various governmental levels.

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