Northeast Engineers & Consultants, Inc. was hired to perform a geotechnical investigation for the proposed development at Corpus Christi Parish. This proposed development consists of a new church building, adjacent to the existing parish center building. The church will have a main floor area of 24,291 square feet and a partial basement of 4703 square feet. The main floor will be set
at an elevation of 215.5 feet, and the partial basement, beneath the east portion for the church will have a floor elevation of 205.5 feet. The front of the new church will be connected to the parish center by a central courtyard, and a bell tower will be located to the west of the courtyard. New paved parking is planned around the church site.

The Scope of Work for this project included the following:

• A field exploration program that consisted of drilling, logging and sampling 14 borings;
  5 borings were drilled to a depth of 30 feet, while the remaining 9 borings were drilled to a
  10 foot depth.
• Engineering analysis of the results of the field explorations were used to develop site preparation and foundation design recommendations
• Preparation of a report summarizing the results of the field exploration, engineering analysis and recommendations for the project.

NE&C's investigations revealed loose sandy soils at variable depths across the site. The primary geotechnical concern with these conditions is the potential settlement of the building from consolidation of the existing loose sandy soils.

NE&C's recommendations included substantial grading to achieve the design floor subgrades. Most of the site for the church will require excavation below existing grade by as much as 5 feet, while up to 8 feet of fill will be required along the north side of the building and a portion of the southern wing.