A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Sunday to begin officially the construction on City Station. The new development is a special project by Southern Hills Christian Church and will be located at Maple Crossing just off the GreenBelt.
City Station will serve as a community center for residents in Carrollton, while also offering Covenant Housing for 60 full-time college students.
“Every aspect of this project has been designed with a dual purpose in mind,” said Nicole Jones, Creative Arts Pastor. “This facility will be in use and available to the community every day of the week. While Southern Hills will make City Station its new home, City Station will not be built for our comfort, but rather to radically serve our community.”
Easily accessible to everyone in Carrollton, City Station will be a community center on 8.51 acres located on the GreenBelt, less than a mile west of the University of West Georgia’s campus.
Jones says the building will feature a fitness center, individual study rooms, access to the Greenbelt and covered bike parking, free Wi-Fi, a Christian-centered preschool, Biblical counseling services, and a restaurant.
“We believe City Station will be a catalyst for positive change in our community for several different reasons,” said Jones. “It will generate positive economic development in Carrollton, but more importantly, it will generate positive spiritual development. We are confident this will lead to safer neighborhoods, better schools, happier homes, more positive workplaces, and so much more. City Station will provide jobs for those who were previously unemployable. It will give people an opportunity to get out of the negative circumstances in which they find themselves, instead of feeling hopeless without any viable solutions. City Station will become a beacon of hope and unity for Carrollton.”
The City Station project has been in the works for more than four years. Shannon Lovelady stepped in as the Pastor for Southern Hill Christian Church in 2013. He knew that the church would eventually outgrow its current location on Highway 113 just north of Carrollton, but he envisioned a development like City Station for his congregation to move into.
That vision has finally become a reality as hundreds gathered on the future City Station site for the official groundbreaking on March 26. “Breaking ground is exciting as we close the chapter of preparation. Now the real work begins,” said Kirby Butler, City Station Committee Chair.
Jones said the church intends for City Station to serve as a community center for Christians, as well as other members of the community. “This project is unique to our area as it will meet needs that no other facility or program is meeting and bring together people who would otherwise not share in community together,” said Jones.
Lead Pastor Shannon Lovelady, Executive Pastor of Operations Kevin Jarrett, and Committee Chair Kirby Butler have lead the charge on the project. Jones said the team has met with bank representatives, city officials, architects, and contractors while spending countless hours planning and implementing the vision.
“Ultimately, however, this vision and project belong to God,” said Lovelady. “There is no way we could have accomplished this on our own. He has been going before us, paving the way and providing the right people at the right time.”
Southern Hills Christian Church offers three services on Sunday mornings, at 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. with kid’s programs for birth through 6th grade. For more information about the ministry of Southern Hills, visit sohillscc.com. For more information about City Station or to give to this project, visit citystation.org.
