Abundant Life Blue Springs

This project transformed a former fitness center within a retail strip center into a fully functioning, nearly 30,000-square-foot church campus with a 500-seat worship room, children’s ministry spaces, grade school, middle school, and high school education areas, a lobby, a check-in area, and multipurpose spaces.

The adaptive reuse presented a wide range of structural and mechanical challenges. Former racquetball courts were converted into education spaces, requiring openings to be cut through thick concrete walls. Large hot tubs, steam rooms, and locker rooms were removed, and the spaces were rebuilt as classrooms. Existing structural columns were evaluated and modified to create the column-free sightlines required for worship. Rather than replace the building’s HVAC equipment, Pearce and the project team evaluated and re-commissioned existing systems, a cost-conscious decision that required careful engineering review. Sound system integration and absorptive acoustical wall treatments completed the worship room transformation.

The team partnered with Wacky World Productions to create a fully themed children’s area with interactive camera displays, 3D artwork, interior slides, and play equipment.

Pearce also served on the owner’s real estate evaluation team, assessing the building’s structure, utilities, masonry, and site access prior to purchase, and we developed detailed construction cost budgets, soft cost projections, and owner-furnished equipment estimates to inform the acquisition decision.