Rice Mine Road site being prepared for Church of the Highlands

Construction is under way Friday at the future home of the Tuscaloosa location of the Church of the Highlands on Rice Mine Road.

Work is under way off Rice Mine Road preparing the site for the new Tuscaloosa campus of Church of the Highlands.

The Rev. Jimmy Bowers, pastor for the Tuscaloosa campus, said site preparation is expected to continue through late December with construction of the building to follow around Christmas.

About 26 of the sites 33 acres will be developed to accommodate the 1,200-seat sanctuary, church offices, childrens spaces and a cafe.

Outside, 964 parking spaces are planned.

And well be landscaping it beautifully to match the area, Bowers said, and were leaving some trees along the river.

In total, the project is expected to reach $21 million and be complete by spring 2016.

The nondenominational Church of the Highlands was founded in February 2001 by the Rev. Chris Hodges as a way for people (to) connect with God in a church without letting structures and programs get in the way, according to its website. Its first service had about 350 congregants in the Fine Arts Center of Mountain Brook High School.

Now, the megachurch has a membership of about 26,000 at 10 church campuses across Alabama, said the Rev. Scott Montgomery, an associate pastor for the Church of the Highlands who oversees the churchs capital projects.

This places the Church of the Highlands in the top 10 of the 2013 Fastest-Growing and Largest Outreach 100 Churches as determined by Outreach magazine, a Christian-based publication.

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Rice Mine Road site being prepared for Church of the Highlands