The new additions to the church will include a lobby, handicapped bathrooms and an elevator to transport people between the church’s three floors, making their current building more accessible. The original building, located at the end of Will Rogers Drive, and the new section will be connected by a hallway.

High Peaks Church Pastor Bruce McCulley said the idea for the project came about “quite a few years ago,” before the coronavirus pandemic, because of overcrowding and accessibility issues. Along with the original building not having enough space to properly accommodate everyone who wanted to attend the church, the 22 steps to get upstairs made it less accessible for people with difficulty walking. Accessibility issues were a definite problem with so many of the church’s worshipers being seniors coming in from the Will Rogers independent living community across the parking lot, according to McCulley.

McCulley and the High Peaks Church building committee hired Hurlbut Contracting to do the work, with some additional independent contractors for electricity, concrete and plumbing.

They broke ground on the project on Oct. 23, 2023. They took a brief break last winter before resuming work this April. The expected end date is currently sometime in February.

Workers from Hurlbut Contracting work on the new worship space for High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Galen Halasz)

McCulley said that at the moment, the expected cost is between $2.7 and 2.8 million. As a congregation, High Peaks Church was able to raise more than half of that money themselves, and a Christian foundation is also going to contribute. McCulley said they’re still fundraising, but they’re close to the required amount.

McCulley, who has been a pastor at High Peaks Church for 12 years, said that he hopes the additions to the building will help their community expand.

“We feel like the message of hope of the gospel is important to what we are and our community. Our culture needs hope and so this is an opportunity for us to make room for more people … to come and hear the good news,” he said, adding that the church is “important for the community now and in the future.”

Learn more at www.highpeakschurch.org.

Workers from Hurlbut Contracting work on the new worship space for High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake on Monday. (Enterprise photo — Galen Halasz)

Workers from Hurlbut Contracting work on the new worship space for High Peaks Church in Saranac Lake on Friday. (Enterprise photo — Galen Halasz)

A sign in the parking lot of the High Peak Church depicts how the new worship space will look after construction is finished. (Enterprise photos — Galen Halasz)