Hot property: Cedar Valley Church addition

8700 Bloomington Av. S., Bloomington

Type: Religious/educational

Addition size: 52,300 square feet

Estimated cost: $7 million

Details: Saying they are outgrowing their aging facilities just a few blocks from the Mall of America, the leaders of the Cedar Valley Church, an Assemblies of God congregation that has been in Bloomington since 1953, are staging a major expansion on their 17-acre campus.

Church officials have applied to the city of Bloomington to construct 52,300 square feet of new space as an addition to their existing 84,000-square-foot church and adjoining Seven Hills Classical Academy charter school.

According to city documents, the addition will include a new lobby that will serve both the church and the charter school on the north side of the building, as well as new space for the church administration offices and a 300-seat auditorium/chapel.

The church's business administrator did not return a call for comment, but Cedar Valley Church's website indicates the main goal of the upgrade is to serve its youth ministry.

Part of the new space will be a student center meant to give the congregation's younger members an appealing space, while the new gym will also be used heavily by youngsters. Classrooms will be remodeled to be more "kid friendly," the website says.

Unlike other areas of non-residential construction and real estate, activity in the religious sector has remained mostly steady during the economic downtown, said Brian Tempas, the principal in charge of Cuningham Group's Worship Studio architectural practice in Minneapolis.

"There may be a sense of hesitation on the part of many churches about how much money can be raised, but their needs are always there," Tempas said. "It's not so much building new churches now, but working to make improvements on existing ones, such as in energy-efficiency and creating master plans that are interwoven with their spiritual missions."

Tempas said churches of the same denominations -- and even those that aren't -- are also moving to consolidate, partnering with each other and outside groups in efforts to save costs on their facilities.