Hey all,

We just finished work at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. The team on this one was the thing that made it work, Shawn and Amber Keltner at Keltner and Co. on the architecture, TX Engineering on the MEP, and our crews on the build. We met every week as the AOC, architect, owner, contractor,  to coordinate the design, the engineering, and the installation. The architect's vision, the engineering, and the work in the field all have to fire on the same cylinders, and those weekly meetings were what kept us aligned.

Shawn and Amber did great work; thoughtful drawings, considered details, and they stayed in the conversation through every question the field raised. TX brought the same care to the MEP. They ran the engineering patiently and worked through the harder coordination moments with us. Good partners to build with on a project like this.

A church is a different kind of build. Most projects we take on have a pretty clear horizon,  a restaurant lease runs ten years, an office TI is built until the next tenant moves in. The proforma assumes a lifespan, and the materials and craftsmanship match it. A church doesn't work that way. The congregation isn't thinking in lease cycles. They're thinking in generations. That changes how you build.

Take the stained glass. On a typical project, window installation is straightforward — get the right size, seal it, move on. With stained glass you're coordinating between the glass manufacturer, the structural engineer designing the support system, and the glazier setting each panel without disturbing the surrounding framing. Every panel has to support its own weight, hold up under wind load, and stay sealed against weather. One shortcut and you're managing water intrusion that quietly destroys irreplaceable glasswork.

Acoustics was the second one. When two hundred people need to hear a speaker clearly from every seat, the ceiling height, the wall materials, and the HVAC all have to work together. A commercial TI can tolerate a louder air handler. A worship space can't. We worked with the architect an mechanical engineers on the design to keep noise low enough for spoken word while still moving enough air to keep the space comfortable. That meant undersizing duct velocity, adding acoustic lining, and locating equipment as far from the sanctuary as we could.

Then there's the millwork. On a restaurant or retail TI, trim and finish carpentry is typically spec-grade good enough for the lease term. In a church, every joint is visible. Every piece of trim is detailed for permanence.

One thing about this project worth saying. When you're building something meant to outlast everyone working on it, the standard naturally rises. You see it in how the crews set up, how they protect the work, how carefully they finish what they touch. The congregation is using the space now.

A restaurant has to perform for ten years. A church has to perform for fifty, or a hundred, or longer. You don't get many chances to build on that horizon. Glad to have had this one.

Best, 

Aaron