The city of Casper gave Highland Park Community Church the greenlight Wednesday to construct a sprawling 104,000-square foot facility south of the Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Center on the Casper's east side.

The planned move to a larger facility has been two years in the making, according to Marc Sundstrom, the church's administrative pastor. The church planned to move to a location near 12th and Newport streets, but neighbors complained about increased traffic in the residential neighborhood.

Attendance has tripled to about 1,600 regular parishioners since the church first occupied its current location at Second and Walsh streets, Sundstrom said, highlighting the need for a new building that originally housed around 500 people each weekend. Sundstrom said church officials hope to have the $18 million, two-story facility completed by fall of 2010.

Sundstrom said the church acquired the land after the 12th and Newport plans fell through. William Luker sold the church 22 acres of land south of the Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Hospital earlier this year for $10, according to Natrona County records.

Council member Bill Brauer said the church would be a welcome addition to the area, and since it will be accessible from Second Street, there aren't as many traffic concerns.

The main point of contention among council members before they approved the church's plan was the single access point in HPCC's proposal - Betty Way Drive. The church modified its proposal, adding two new roads to alleviate potential traffic snarls the single access point would have created.

"Most of the council agreed that [initial plans] didn't provide enough access," Brauer said. "We delayed it for a meeting, and they worked out the details and agreed to do a new access road."

In addition to access from Second Street on Betty Way Drive, the church is extending Bentley Circle one block south of Second Street. Highland Drive, an east-west street the church is constructing to run parallel to Second Street, will connect Betty Way Drive and Bentley Circle.

Brauer also said the private roads the church will construct, which lack curbs and gutters, will likely become public in the future as the city develops the area.

"It's laid out so that it will fit future development, and at that point, it will be upgraded," he said. "That will be the responsibility of the developers."

The church held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 31. The new facility will have more classroom space, more meeting rooms, and a larger children's area, Sundstrom said, and there's also room to expand if the church continues to grow.

April Getchius, the city's Community Development Director, said the church is likely to be the largest in Casper once completed.

Reach city reporter Pete Nickeas at (307) 266-0639 or pete.nickeas@trib.com

News Tracker

* LAST WE KNEW: Planning delays and traffic disputes prevented Highland Park Community Church from moving to a new location.

* THE LATEST: The city of Casper approved the church's site plan at its Wednesday, July 6 city council meeting.

* WHAT'S NEXT: Marc Sundstrom, HPCC's administrative pastor, said hopes to start construction next month and have the building enclosed before winter so indoor construction can begin. The target end-date is sometime in the fall of 2010.