Marty Gordon
Northstar Church has been meeting at several locations around the New River Valley for over 15 years including Sunday services at Blacksburg Middle School. Recently, the church broke ground on a new 10 acre, 34,000 square foot facility on Prices Fork Road.
An artist’s rendering shows a proposed new Northstar Church to be located on Prices Fork Road.
According to Pastor Jeff Noble, the new building has been needed for a long time. The building is being designed to be a community center and includes a space that area groups can use for meetings and other gatherings.
“We have envisioned a place where moms can come during the day, have a cup of coffee, and where there’ll be a children’s ministry area,” he said.
The new location, on property that used to be a farm, will also include an indoor playground.
Noble said it has been difficult to keep meeting in small groups all over valley.
“Now, we will be able to hold everything in a centralized area.”
Northstar boasts a current membership of 240 individuals, but had over 500 for its recent Easter Service. The new sanctuary will seat 600 people with an expandable area that would allow capacity to accommodate nearly 1,000 people.
“We had looked for land for almost three years,” Noble said.
The group purchased the land in 2014 and broke ground in March.
In cooperation with the project’s contractor, G&H, a web cam has been installed on-site so the public and church members can watch the progress of building construction.
The total price tag for the new project is $6 million, and Noble said approximately half of that has been raised so far.
The timetable calls for construction to take 12-14 months with possible occupancy next summer.
Future plans call for a walking trail to the rear of the property, which will be for residential use.
