Cedar Crest
Behind Every Door's Newest Community
Restoring the Heart of the Community
We are purchasing the Cedar Crest Community Center, a 50-year staple of the South Oak Cliff community previously owned by The Salvation Army. This eight-acre property includes a 20,000-square-foot community center, a 4,000-square-foot church building, and a full-size football field and playground area. The property is perfectly situated for our families and has more than 1,000 teens and children in the neighborhood who attend the elementary and high schools within a quarter mile of the property. This community center can once again fill a critical vacuum as the premier – and only – destination for supportive activities like sports and enrichment for a huge portion of South Oak Cliff.
The ownership and renovation of the Cedar Crest property will allow Behind Every Door to grow past previous limitations to ensure necessary services remain in the community, create steady revenue streams for the future of our ministry, and provide a platform to teach other organizations how to replicate our model. We will continue to serve the two apartment communities where we have established meaningful relationships and life-enhancing programs, even as we move into a new home in the heart of this South Oak Cliff community, eagerly awaiting our arrival.
With plans and early donor support, we are now ready to take the next step in making this vision a reality through a capital campaign to raise $6 million for the property purchase and three phases of renovations that will be necessary and instrumental to our success:
Phase 1 | Chapel
We are beginning with the Chapel because it requires the least amount of work and will allow us to begin some programming immediately. In addition to basic cosmetic improvements, audiovisual enhancements will support prayer sets, conferences, events and recordings, and allow for students to learn the operations. Additionally, the audiovisual set up will allow us to produce high quality content for both community programs and the training and ongoing support modules for replicating our model.
CHAPEL EXTERIOR (Before) | This chapel building was a later addition to the property and will be our quickest renovation on-site.
CHAPEL INTERIOR (Before) | In addition to serving as a house of prayer for our staff and our neighbors in the community, the chapel will serve as an event space that can host a number of guests if needed! We are going to remove the pews and put in more flexible seating so the room can be transitioned into an open space if needed.
Phase 2 | Community Center
The Community Center will be the hub of activity for Behind Every Door and the community we serve. Beyond necessary building renovations, the existing basketball gymnasium will be repaired and updated. We also plan to provide 3-4 rooms for art, literacy, activities, etc., a living room/lounge area, counseling space (private and play therapy), tutoring rooms, a fitness room, and a commercial kitchen.
Gym (Before) | Our amazing gym! We're going to put in hardwoods, replace the backboards and pulleys, and possibly replace the scoreboard! What would be the first game you would play with our kids in this incredible gym?
WEIGHT ROOM (Before) | This room used to be the chapel before the independent chapel was built, and now serves as a weight room for members of the community! Think you could keep up with the athletes in our community here?
COMMERCIAL KITCHEN (Before) | This kitchen is what dreams are made of! We are so excited to finally have a commercial kitchen for our community events. What would you cook with our kids in this kitchen?
CAFETERIA (Before) | This area adjoins the commercial kitchen area and was used as a cafeteria area for the community. We're going to bust out the wall you see on the right-hand side and make it an even larger space with retractable room dividers for different events. Can't you just see the community gathering here for a holiday dinner?
HALLWAY (Before) | Our hallway isn't too pretty right now, but it shows the scale of the building well. We can't wait to see kids filling these hallways in 2021!
HALLWAY (Before) | A 180 from the previous picture showing the hallway. We're going to tear down this dividing wall and make this area a fun community gathering space similar to our entry-way at Roseland.
REC ROOM 1 (Before) | This recreation room is going to be made a part of our larger cafeteria/event space, but we will still be able to section this area off thanks to room partitions that slide along the ceiling. What fun activities do you think our kids will get into here?
REC ROOM 2 (Before) | We're going to be keeping this room as a technology room! We can't wait to teach our boys and girls how to leverage technology for their future!
OFFICE (Before) | This is one of several offices we have on-site that we will allow us to provide services like professional counseling and small group activities!
Phase 3 | Sports Field and Playground
Reaching our youth and community through outdoor sports and activities will be an instrumental element of our ministry. Our vision calls for the conversion of the football field to integrate a Little League baseball diamond that will expand the sports interest and ministry opportunities.
OVERVIEW (Before) | This aerial view of the property will show you the scale of the football field and baseball diamond area. We cannot wait to see this come to fruition and build the community a great place to play!
ENTRY (Before) | Our football and baseball fields will be easily accessible from the parking lots right in front of the community center.
FIELD (Before) | It's hard to grasp how large our football field is from a picture, but this photo of the left half of the field is a good place to start! We're putting in turf and renovating the playground area to become a baseball field thanks to our partnership with the Kershaw Foundation!
CONCESSION (Before)
Through the success of a capital campaign, we aim to complete each of these three phases over the coming 12 to 24 months. Each phase will be initiated and completed as funding is available through the generosity of donors who will help Behind Every Door make this Cedar Crest vision a reality. Because of the significant investment required, we are actively seeking support from those with the passion for our mission and capacity to help. We know through God’s Word that whether time, talent, or treasure, to whom much is given, much will be required. So, we will stand in God’s faithfulness by actively seeking the provision He will provide for His work in Cedar Crest.
Join Us
Together, we can come alongside this community to show them that they are not forgotten. Together, we can invest in this neighborhood to help raise up healthy, literate children, strengthen families, and develop independent adults. Together, we can see Cedar Crest thrive.
