By:Elizabeth Sagarin
After being tucked away behind the Sands shopping center for a larger part of its existence, the Full Gospel Church of Oceanside will soon occupy a highly visible address in Island Park that once belonged to Becker Chevrolet.
The church, now on one acre at 40 Mott St., Oceanside, will by late May or early June occupy a building twice the size and on two acres of land about one mile south of its current location, at 4101 Austin Blvd. The move was spurred when GNL Building Corp. made an offer two years ago that church officials couldn't refuse.
GNL, owner of the Sands center, wanted to expand retail stores onto the church property. It had made other offers to buy the property during the 20 years the church has been there, but church officials always had to say no because they had no place to go. Even with money from a sale, they would not have been able to afford the property and construction costs for building a new church, Senior Pastor Tom Grazioso said.
With that in mind, GNL officials recently acquired the former car-dealership building that stood abandoned for five years and offered to donate the property and building if the church sold its property to them. Grazioso and the church's congregation were hard-pressed to object.
With profits from the sale in hand, and congregants willing to donate expertise and money to multi-million-dollar renovations, the church decided to act as general contractor and arrangements to refit the dealership were put in motion. After a year of environmental studies were conducted, the church was given the official thumbs-up to break ground in September 2000.
Early into the project, George Cappello of Full Service Contracting, whose parents are church members, offered to consult and waived his usual 10 percent fee. He brought Bohler Engineering in to draw the architectural plans, which it completed at a discounted rate.
Robert Lauro, the architect, drew the plans in a manner that coincides with the church's philosophy.
It's a headquarters for church ministries. We're a people church, Grazioso said.
The clean, contemporary lines were drawn to maximize utility and resiliency, he said. On the front of the church will be a large cross surrounded by stonework in shades of brown. Along the bottom of the church's outside walls, which will be light-beige stucco, a three-foot taupe brick border will run. The metal roof will be painted to match the neutral color scheme. No part of the building, Grazioso said, is wood and this helps to keep it fire retardant.
In keeping with the church's wishes to contract local construction companies, Cappello recommended the Fantozzi Brothers of Island Park to do the demolition work, and Barrett Electricians of Island Park. Both offered services at discounted rates.
The overall estimated cost of the project before the discounts would have been well over $2 million, Grazioso said. After the discounts, he estimated it at $1.5 million.
He said the former car dealership lent itself perfectly to the needs of the church and its growing congregation. We're just about full.
Right now, the congregation consists of approximately 300-350 regular attendees, and the current church can accommodate about 300 people in the sanctuary.
The new location can accommodate anywhere from 400-450 people in the sanctuary and 135-140 cars in its parking lot.
With excitement in his voice, Grazioso described the inside of the new church. He said the area that served as the dealership's garage, with its 26-foot-high ceiling, 68-foot-wide and 60-foot-long seating area, will serve as the sanctuary. Off the south side of the sanctuary, Christian education rooms will be outfitted from what used to be part of the service area. Part of the former dealership's showroom will serve as a fellowship area, and the other part will be the entrance and kitchen. Upstairs from that area, offices will be housed.
It's a real blessing, Grazioso said.
The growing ministries and after-mass activities, such as Royal Rangers, Missionettes and Youth Group, have made the move extremely timely.
With a motto of A perfect church for imperfect people, attendance has had no choice but to grow.
