XP Ministries has been established in Maricopa since 2004 and is planning another building on this lot in the Heritage District. Photo by Adam Wolfe

Maricopa Heritage District Citizen Advisory Committee was impressed by the revisions XP Ministries made to a plan for a new building at 20031 N. Justin Drive.

The new building is the lot south of XP Ministries’ building on the corner of Hathaway Avenue and Justin Drive across from the post office. The properties are owned by Christian Services Association, Inc (CSA). The nonprofit organization also owns the lot south of the property being discussed and another lot on the west side of Justin Drive.

Founded in Canada, CSA is the parent company to XP Ministries, which was established in Maricopa in 2004. Patricia King is its president. Its focus is disseminating religious teachings through media. Its building at 44927 W. Hathaway is called the Missions and Media building, half of which is a studio. The new building will be Studio B.

During the presentation Thursday, city planner Ryan Wozniak discussed XP’s plan to elevate the new building’s entrance and provide adequate parking at the site. The revisions also include a water retention plan to avoid flooding and improvements to the landscaping.

“This area is prone to flood-plain issues, so that is why the front entrance is 24 inches off the ground to put it a foot above the flood-plain rules,” Wozniak said. “Also, since they are utilizing so much of their site for building and parking, they have had to go through the additional costs of doing underground retention under the parking lot. They will have to dig down six feet and put in these big plastic domes to retain water.”

XP Ministries does not currently have a plan to use any rain water captured in the domes, but the landscaping is being designed to collect rainwater to water the vegetation on the property.

The front of the 4,300-square-foot building will feature spaces for vehicles to parallel park. These additional spaces concerned some members of the committee, but Wozniak explained the new spaces were not meant to be used for regular assemblies.

“Additional parking has been added to the front of the building for street access,” Wozniak said. “The whole rear of the building is still dedicated to parking. We have asked for additional screening to be used so if headlights are ever used they don’t bleed into neighboring properties.”

The advisory committee has already granted XP Ministries permission to build on the new site. The five committee members in attendance seemed encouraged by the organization’s progress.

“I think it all looks really good,” Committee Chair Brian Foose said. “The building looks great. [XP Ministries] has really stayed on top of things and we appreciate that.”