Design Helps Practice What's Preached

Chase Oaks Local Good Center in Texas is designed to serve local community and those in need, affordably.

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In 2014, Chase Oaks Church in Plano, Texas, launched the Chase Oaks Family Center, a few miles from its main campus. Designed to provide resources to individuals and families in need, the Center proved so successful that six years later, Chase Oaks embarked on a hunt for a new property where it would establish a dedicated community center. Over Thanksgiving 2021, Chase Oaks celebrated the opening of the Local Good Center, located in a retail center across the street from the Family Center.

On a programming level, the Local Good Center’s is varied. Visitors may sign up for any number of classes, including cooking, English as a Second Language (ESL), parenting, computer basics, as well as a course on U.S. citizenship exam preparation. In partnership with local schools and non-profits, the Center hosts an annual toy drive (ToyZone), where qualifying families are invited to purchase Christmas gifts for their children at a discounted rate. SchoolZone, another Local Good Center program, offers school supplies, also at a discount. There is a wellness center where visitors may receive preventive health education and screenings, and a pantry where program participants have access to fresh, healthy food.

"... we were aiming for ... an environment that instilled positivity and hope.”

Jacquelyn Block, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Principal, GFF, Dallas, TX

Having enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Chase Oaks Church, GFF, a multidisciplinary design firm based in Dallas, oversaw the design and repurposing of the retail space, which previously housed, of all things, an escape room––a game in which players must solve a number of puzzles in order to unlock the room (and thus, “escape”). “When they took over the space, there were still many of the remnants of the escape room,” recalls Jacquelyn Block, AIA, LEED AP, associate principal at GFF. “It was very dark and gloomy–nothing like what we were aiming for, which was an environment that instilled positivity and hope.” This, she relays, required a complete renovation of the existing facility.

A separate, single-user full bathroom is intended for use by those who may not have access to a shower.

What Good looks like

At 14,000 square feet, the Local Good Center houses adult learning spaces, children’s classrooms, as well as an indoor play area. A community room seats up to 150, and is used for banquets and other events, such as ToyZone and SchoolZone. There is the aforementioned food pantry and subsequent storage space, and the wellness program uses two dedicated exam rooms with an adjacent restroom. A separate, single-user full bathroom is intended for use by those who may not have access to a shower. “They really wanted to build in as much flexibility to serve whatever needs come up in the community,” Block explains.

One of the most significant elements of the Local Good Center is its teaching kitchen. Part kitchen/part classroom, this is where visitors come to learn how to cook healthy meals on a budget. Block relays that creating this space was one of the most challenging (and rewarding) aspects of the project: while Chase Oaks wanted to build a residential-style kitchen similar to what visitors had in their own homes, public commercial projects typically require commercial-grade facilities that meet health and safety regulations. After collaborating with the City, they reached a compromise, which involved the installation of a grease trap, as well as some industrial equipment, which is “hidden” in a back-of-house space in order to maintain a homey feel in the actual cooking area. “The result is a residential-style kitchen similar to what someone might have at home but the kitchen also meets the health requirements,” Block says.

Julissa Estrada, director of the Local Good Center, notes that a ceiling-mounted camera above the kitchen captures images of the prep area that are then projected onto a screen. “This gives students a closer look at what the teacher or chef is working on,” she says. She adds that the kitchen is, “beautiful without being intimidating.”

The materials and finishes throughout the Center are durable and easy to clean, but also colorful and bright. “Chase Oaks wants people to feel excited, and hopeful, and energetic, and to walk out feeling better than when they walked in,” Block says. “Finding that right balance of color and good materials was important.” Where possible, spaces take advantage of natural light and use an uplifting color palette.

Block shares that her favorite part of this project was the opportunity to participate in the creation of a facility whose mission is to respond to the needs of the community. “It’s such a unique program, and they’re going to be able to help so many people, and families, and kids,” she says. “It’s fun to be a small part of that.” And, as the pandemic has resulted in fewer in-person church attendees––thus freeing up space in houses of worship––she says that more churches are exploring how to program unused space for similar community outreach. “It’s a way to connect to the community, serve their needs, and potentially bring in the unchurched––maybe someone who hasn’t been to a church comes to a social event and they get connected. We’re definitely talking to churches about how they can use their properties differently, and it’s exciting.”

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