Dome sweet dome: Sudbury's domed church to be complete next summer.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: BUSIGN-BUILD

By summer 2015, Sudbury's first monolithic dome structure will be complete and operational.

The building, which will become the new home of All Nations Church, got the go-ahead earlier this fall when Northern Credit Union agreed to front the organization the roughly $2.3 million it would take to complete construction, said All Nations' senior pastor, Jeremy Mahood.

Phase one of construction was completed in summer 2012 with $2.2 million in pledges raised by the congregation. But because the church guaranteed parishioners it wouldn't go into debt to complete the project, it held off on phase two until another $2.3 million could be collected.

The congregation has now raised that money, but the catalyst for phase two came from the Northern Credit Union. "They have decided to accept our pledge money as collateral against construction advance, which allowed us to start building again [in October] and work right through to completion," hood said.

Mahood estimates that will fast-forward the project's completion by four years; $2.3 million doesn't allow for much annual construction when the funds are spread out over five years, but when used all at once, it's enough to get the project finished.

Construction has now begun on a second dome structure, the 4,000-square-foot "Core" youth and children's centre, which will be connected to the first dome by an enclosed walkway. Structural steel started going up in November, and Mahood anticipated the building would be closed in by Christmas Eve.

The crew is simultaneously shaping the interior of the first dome, putting in the floor for a sloped, 800-seat auditorium. Sewer and water is being connected to municipal lines, electrical servicing is complete, and the entire site has been graded.

"They're big, big steps for us," Mahood said.

Work will now begin on the interiors, which Mahood estimates will...