PROJECT: HOPE CITY CHURCH
CLIENT: HOPE CITY CHURCH
LOCATION: HOUSTON, TEXAS
ARCHITECT: KIRKSEY
Hope City Church needed a 1,900-seat sanctuary addition and a full renovation of their children’s ministry space, with a hard budget ceiling of $21 million and a lease expiration that made delays unacceptable.
Paradigm’s preconstruction team partnered with Kirksey to build a value engineering menu of over 70 line items, presenting every option to the client and letting them choose. More than $4 million in savings unlocked lender approval and kept the congregation in control of their own decisions.
Three months had to be cut from the schedule before mobilization, achieved by locking in key trades early and involving them in preconstruction planning. Despite early weather delays and over 125 workers from 42 subcontractors coordinated daily at peak, the building was turned over November 14th, and Hope City held their first service on December 5, 2025, on the original contract date.
Problems that could have derailed the project were solved before they had the chance. A pre-mobilization ground-penetrating radar survey found a sanitary sewer line running beneath the new sanctuary footprint, allowing a full redesign before the foundation was poured. Selective demo in the Kids Town renovation revealed structural work that didn’t meet current code, which was brought into full compliance. And when a subcontractor proposed replacing the original multi-week elevated seating assembly with structural geofoam, the team moved on it, completing the work in three days instead of three weeks.
Tilt-up concrete walls, a 30-plus year TPO roof, and oversized HVAC units running at reduced capacity gave Hope City a building engineered for long-term performance, with projected energy costs comparable to their previous, smaller space.
Hope City’s leadership weren’t construction experts, and they didn’t need to be. They needed a team that would protect their budget, anticipate problems before they became costly, and deliver a building their congregation could walk into on time. That’s exactly what they got. In the months since opening, Hope City has seen remarkable growth in attendance, a testament to what the right space, delivered at the right moment, can make possible.
