The Pasco church Hungry Generation plans a multimillion dollar, three-phase expansion to increase not only its local capacity and offerings but also its global reach.

The first phase involves transforming a building on North Edison Street in Kennewick into a church space with room for 1,000 people. Two future phases will include creating a media center and building a school of ministry and a private Christian school, according to information on the church website.

The price tag is estimated at $12 million.

“We have now reached the new phase in HungryGen’s expansion. We recently have purchased a new facility and we are currently remodeling it, preparing it for hosting of 1,000 or so people that will be able to fit in that sanctuary,” said Pastor Vlad Savchuk in a video posted on the church’s website.

Project manager Paul Govorukhin told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that the building at 1120 N. Edison St. used to be a roller rink and a government facility over the course of its life. It’s one story, but part of the work is creating a second story. Construction is expected to take about 1 ½ to two years.

Govorukhin’s company, Innovative Solutions Construction in Pasco, is the general contractor.

The cost is about $3.7 million, according to a building permit filed with the city of Kennewick.

Govorukhin said the new building is needed because of growth at Hungry Generation, which holds four services at its West Sylvester Street home on Sundays to accommodate all those who want to attend.

People regularly travel from outside of the Tri-Cities – even outside of the state – to take part in Hungry Generation services and events, Govorukhin said.

The church – and Savchuk as its senior pastor – have a significant presence on social media, with hundreds of thousands of followers across Facebook, Instagram and other sites. The accounts share teachings on topics from marriage roles to homosexuality, gender identity, culture and more.

Future stages of the expansion project involve building out office space for church staff and operations, buying additional broadcast equipment and creating a media center for global reach, building a school of ministry, adding classrooms and housing and building HungryGen Academy, a private Christian school with a state-of-the-art science lab, kitchen and recreation area, the information posted online says.

The church started in 2001, after founding Pastor Vasiliy Parkhotyuk immigrated from Ukraine to the Tri-Cities. It moved into its Pasco home at 3203 W. Sylvester St. in 2003.

The church’s mission “is to bring salvation to this generation,” the website says.