GAINESVILLE — A new Catholic church is planned in Gainesville on nearly 20 acres on the west side of town.
The Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board is being asked to rezone just over four acres from Residential-One (R-I) to Planned Unit Development (P-U-D) and to amend the P-U-D zoning on the other acreage. The board is scheduled to consider the requests July 14 at 5:30 at the Gainesville Justice Center on Queen City Parkway.
According to the agenda for the meeting, the Archdiocese of Atlanta plans a 1,000-seat sanctuary on the site on Browns Bridge Road behind Horton Trailers and Gainesville Motorsports. This is just east of the new Walmart Neighborhood Market. Part of the land is vacant and the contains an abandoned golf driving range.
In addition to the sanctuary, the campus - to be known as St. John Paul II Catholic Mission - would also include administrative offices, a parish/social hall, community meeting rooms, religious education classrooms, a pre-school, a daycare, a gymnasium, outdoor playfields, and on-site residence for clergy. Access is proposed from two driveways located along S. Smith Road near Cherry Hill Drive.
Future plans call for a 1,200-seat sanctuary at which time the old sanctuary would be converted into a parish/social hall. Within 20 years or so, the church also hopes to open an elementary school on the site.
