Emmanuel Episcopal Plans Expansion

The vista on Prince Avenue will soon be changing as Emmanuel Episcopal expands its campus to accommodate the growing church's needs for space. Emmanuel joins other downtown churches that have invested millions in constructing thoughtful additions to their buildings and property rather than move to larger facilities.

The Episcopalian church will add an eastern wing to the present 19th-century granite structure. It will take up land now occupied by the , the Atlanta Union Mission's , the and a surrounding parking lot. The thrift store will return in a new place on the campus once the expansion is finished, but the Potters House will have to find a new location.

Emmanuel's vestry, an elected body of members who help with the church's missions and operations, has hired Houser Walker, an Atlanta architectural firm, to handle the project.

 "There's a lot of functional needs that the church has," Hank Houser has said.  "Once you enter the front door, you're in the sanctuary. There's no narthex or vestibule to congregate in before the service."

The company will have the architectural and engineering drawings completed this fall for the first phase, which includes a narthex and designated drop-off area. According to Houser, the project should break ground in early 2012 and come to a close in early 2013.