Walls are now going up on the largest Protestant church building project in Lane County at this time. The Northwood Christian Church will relocate to a new facility being built in Marcola Meadows, one of the largest housing development in Springfield.

In January 2020 the church voted to purchase eight acres of the Marcola Meadows land after struggling to accommodate their usual number of church-goers. Its current building is 22,000 square feet, while the new facility will be over double the size at 45,000 square feet.

The church was able to purchase the land through community and church donations.

It is fairly uncommon for developers to deliberately make space for churches in new land development plans, but the senior pastor of Northwood Church, Barry Lind, said the developers welcomed the church with open arms.

Lind said I&E Construction, the new owners of the land, said “It would be great to have a church on that property.”

“We’re really grateful for the developer that’s saying, ‘hey, we want to welcome a church in this community,’” Lind said.

The church will be located on the edge of Marcola Meadows on the corner of Marcola Road and V street. It will accompany 92 more acres being developed in Marcola Meadows. Among other developments in the area are more than 750 new homes, a school, a convenience store, a medical office, several miles of multi-use paths and more.

The development plans follow more than a decade of vacancy in the area. Andy Limbird, Senior Planner for the City of Springfield Development and Public Works, said I&E Construction bought the 100-acre property and started development in 2020 with the intention of creating a residential community.

“It’s probably a welcome relief to a lot of people,” Limbird said.

With the original plan to complete development in 2025, Limbird said they expect to wrap up development by the end of next year and will be able to have close to 2,000 new Springfield residents in the area.

Lind said the church community is excited to see how the development brings a new community together.

“I think about this whole community of apartments and houses that are being built right around us, and how many of those folks don’t have a church,” Lind said. “We can be a welcoming home for them that we hope will bring encouragement and make a difference in their life.”

Officials say that the city’s trust is what expedited the process and they’re thankful to be in the home stretch of development.