Dawson Memorial Baptist Church Expansion, Renovation Complete

A 65,800-square-foot expansion and renovation at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Homewood, Alabama is complete. Serving as general contractor, Hoar Construction delivered extensive upgrades to the church’s 74-year-old sanctuary. The project began in June 2025 and included a complete rebuild of the interior worship space, upgraded HVAC, electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems and improved points of ingress and egress.

As part of the renovation, the project team rebuilt the main stage and reconfigured the choir loft to provide more space for worship leaders, adding new finishes to all worship spaces. New flooring and windows were installed, along with audiovisual, lighting and sound systems. Key accessibility upgrades include a new elevator and an ADA-accessible ramp outside of the building.

One of the main goals of the renovation was to alleviate bottlenecks at key exits. To accomplish this, the team removed and rebuilt existing stair towers, reworking the foundations to create a more efficient flow of traffic while entering and exiting the sanctuary. During the installation of new mechanical and electrical systems, scaffolding was used to reach the sanctuary’s 40-foot-tall ceilings. The team also reinforced the basement beneath the sanctuary with fiber reinforcement to support the new stage and choir loft.

During construction, members of the congregation were invited to write scripture on the exposed flooring before the new finishes were installed, leaving a meaningful connection to the church within the renovated space. Forest Daniel and Associates served as the architect for the renovation.