Walker Construction Inc., of Spokane, has begun work on a $1.2 million expansion of the Garland Avenue Alliance Church on Spokane's North Side, says John Warren, chairman of the church's leadership board.

The project consists of constructing a 7,100-square-foot addition on the west side of the church, which currently has 40,000 square feet of floor space, including classrooms and a gymnasium, Warren says. The church is at 2011 W. Garland.

The addition will house a new sanctuary. The church's former sanctuary had been converted into classrooms, and the gymnasium has been serving as the interim sanctuary.

"This will be a more formal sanctuary," he says. "We have wanted it for quite a while."

The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of November.

The construction will be paid for with money the church obtained through the sale of property that at one time it planned to use for a construction project, and with money contributed by church members, he says.

G.D. Longwell Architects PLLC, of Hayden Lake, is the architect, he says.