A plan to build a community center off Willowbend Road for First Baptist Church will be considered tonight by the Peachtree City Planning Commission.

The commission meeting starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Church officials want to build a building with a 10,000 sq. ft. gym with a stage area, another 6,000 sq. ft. for multipurpose use and classroom space, 2,000 sq. ft. for a youth area and 7,000 sq. ft. for a reception area and storage.

The building will be located off Willowbend Road behind the Willowbend shopping center and next to the Twiggs Corner Condominiums.

The plan would add 144 parking spaces; the initial proposal called for 352 additional parking spaces.

The church also wants to tear down three apartment buildings it owns directly to the south and across Willowbend Road from the main church building. That location will be made into a parking lot, officials said.

The church will also reconfigure one of the entrances to its main parking lot so traffic in the area will flow better.

Church officials have committed to making the facility available for city recreation programs when it is not being used for church activities.