Mount Vernon Baptist Church is adding a new chapel to its sprawling Henrico County campus. Photos by Burl Rolett.
A western Henrico County church has big plans for a new house of worship.
Mount Vernon Baptist Church will break ground on a new $15 million church building in the spring after receiving a $14 million donation to kick-start the project.
The donor, according to an October newsletter from the church, was prolific Henrico County developer Bob Atack. Atack, who died in May, left the donation to be paid out to the church over the next 20 years.
“That enabled us to begin a building fund with a good start,” said Donald Runion, Mount Vernon Baptist’s pastor. “Then we looked at the fact that this is a time with favorable interest rates, relatively low building costs to what they may be after inflation resumes, and it was a time when our congregation was ready to see the new sanctuary built.”
The new 40,000-square-foot church will be the fourth and final phase of a master building plan for Mount Vernon’s Glen Allen campus. So far the church has built a multipurpose center, a children’s center and office space over its 47 acres near Nuckols and Twin Hickory roads.
The new church will hold about 1,200 people between an 800-seat floor and a 400-seat balcony. Construction is expected to begin in March and wrap up about 18 months later. Taylor and Parrish is the project’s general contractor, and HuffMorris Architects designed the building.
The new chapel will fit 1,200 people. Rendering courtesy of MVBC.
The church is paying for the project through a combination of private donations and loans.
Mount Vernon currently has about 90,000 square feet of space between all of its buildings. By the time construction is finished on the new chapel, the church’s Nuckols Road campus will include about 130,000 square feet of development and parking lots over 37 acres, as well as a 10-acre park with four gardens and a mausoleum.
“The chapel will complete the main master plan,” Runion said. “We do have plans that include some other activity buildings, but they are secondary to our main goal.”
Mount Vernon moved to its current location in 1997 from a church building near Broad Street and Parham Road, Runion said, after the church outgrew that five-acre site. The church sold that land to the Henrico County School Board and it now houses Mount Vernon Middle School.
The church holds its Sunday services in the multipurpose center for now, and Runion said about 1,000 people attend services each week.
Mount Vernon Baptist Church is adding a new chapel to its sprawling Henrico County campus. Photos by Burl Rolett.
A western Henrico County church has big plans for a new house of worship.
Mount Vernon Baptist Church will break ground on a new $15 million church building in the spring after receiving a $14 million donation to kick-start the project.
The donor, according to an October newsletter from the church, was prolific Henrico County developer Bob Atack. Atack, who died in May, left the donation to be paid out to the church over the next 20 years.
“That enabled us to begin a building fund with a good start,” said Donald Runion, Mount Vernon Baptist’s pastor. “Then we looked at the fact that this is a time with favorable interest rates, relatively low building costs to what they may be after inflation resumes, and it was a time when our congregation was ready to see the new sanctuary built.”
The new 40,000-square-foot church will be the fourth and final phase of a master building plan for Mount Vernon’s Glen Allen campus. So far the church has built a multipurpose center, a children’s center and office space over its 47 acres near Nuckols and Twin Hickory roads.
The new church will hold about 1,200 people between an 800-seat floor and a 400-seat balcony. Construction is expected to begin in March and wrap up about 18 months later. Taylor and Parrish is the project’s general contractor, and HuffMorris Architects designed the building.
The new chapel will fit 1,200 people. Rendering courtesy of MVBC.
The church is paying for the project through a combination of private donations and loans.
Mount Vernon currently has about 90,000 square feet of space between all of its buildings. By the time construction is finished on the new chapel, the church’s Nuckols Road campus will include about 130,000 square feet of development and parking lots over 37 acres, as well as a 10-acre park with four gardens and a mausoleum.
“The chapel will complete the main master plan,” Runion said. “We do have plans that include some other activity buildings, but they are secondary to our main goal.”
Mount Vernon moved to its current location in 1997 from a church building near Broad Street and Parham Road, Runion said, after the church outgrew that five-acre site. The church sold that land to the Henrico County School Board and it now houses Mount Vernon Middle School.
The church holds its Sunday services in the multipurpose center for now, and Runion said about 1,000 people attend services each week.
Burl – I appreciate you writing this story about Mount Vernon. My dad had wished this particular gift to be anonymous but that is near impossible in this day and time.
This gift was most important and meaningful to him as it is to honor those members that walked out of the old Mount Vernon in 1997 on faith. They left a church with white columns and a steeple to worship in essentially a warehouse. These members are considered to be those of “the greatest generation” whom my Dad held in high regard for all they sacraficed for our nation.
Bob Atack was one of the most generous men to have walked the earth. There weren’t many published stories about his contributions to Henrico County, but they amounted to tens of millions of dollars. In the mid-2000’s, The National Association of Home Builders honored Bob by designating him their Man of the Year. He’ll be missed in this community.