Established in 1968, Greenhouse Church has expanded considerably over the years. In addition to its original building in Gainesville, Fla., the congregation has grown to include three other campuses in South Florida as well as a global community online.

To better serve Gainesville’s growing multi-generational, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community, Greenhouse recently decided to build a new worship facility with a 2,000 seat auditorium, youth building, and an expanded children’s ministry space and offices.

The church contracted with Ceco Builder, Scherer Construction of North Florida, based in Gainesville, to create their new facility, which was Greenhouse’s first building project in almost 30 years.

Scherer Construction collaborated on the project with Gainesville-based companies D.L. Scarborough Enterprises and Crosier Roofing. The team determined that construction of a custom metal building was the best approach for this project.

Metal increased the speed of construction and kept the project on schedule. A custom metal building also requires less maintenance and will last longer, allowing for a better life-cycle cost assessment compared to conventional construction materials. That was good news for the congregation, which uses its spare funds to serve the community.

Scherer Construction worked to create a long span, open space in the large sanctuary that would allow for the church’s required seating capacity. Mezzanines were installed to match the stage area so they could be the mechanical platforms for church sound equipment.

For the building’s roof, Scherer Construction used more than 65,000 square feet of Ceco’s Double-Lok standing seam metal roof system in 24-gauge Galvalume. Since Florida has such volatile weather conditions, the Double-Lok system was a good choice because it’s tough, long-lasting, and weathertight.

For the church’s walls, Scherer used 30,488 square feet of Ceco’s PBR panel in Galvalume and a mix of finish materials, including an exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS) over metal panels. Scherer also used horizontal 7.2 exposed fastener panels in Signature® 300 Brownstone and vertical PBR panels in Galvalume. To improve the building’s energy efficiency, Scherer used a Skyliner high-performance R-30 value insulation system.

The church congregation was very engaged with the construction project. Once the bones of the project were complete, families spanning multiple generations visited the construction site and left their mark on the church. They wrote words of scripture, prayers, and messages of hope on the metal beams and on the church’s concrete foundation. Walls and flooring eventually covered those messages, but the heartfelt gestures signaled a fresh chapter for the congregation and its new home.