Inside the former gymnasium of St. James Catholic School in Lakewood, which closed in 2005 and sat vacant for about 17 years, you’ll find The Hall at St. James. The space has maintained court-style flooring and traditional architectural features — 10 sprawling arched windows spaced out between intricate pillars on the wall.
But now, it’s transformed to serve a new purpose.
An auditorium stage was walled up, converted into a small kitchen area and conference room on the other side. In here hangs a map of the United States, with some dozen red pins in several locations, including Nashville, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and even Central Iowa.
This is representative of the rapid growth of Walk Your Plans, Ohio's first and only immersive blueprint projection facility, which started in this gymnasium.
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Founder and president Joe Matejka used to send online blueprints back and forth with clients and colleagues. Using a small desktop screen to materialize larger home renovations would oftentimes miss the mark on what was true to size, so Matejka sought an alternative.
At the time one of his partners, Jess Oster, owner of Oster Services LLC., was taking over the St. James Catholic School building and turning it into offices and co-work spaces.
“[Oster] goes, ‘I think we can figure out a way to take blueprints and project them to scale, so that you can walk before you build.’” Matejka recalls. A year and a half later, seven ceiling projectors can make it happen across the entire floor and one of the four gymnasium walls.
(Courtesy Walk Your Plans)
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Against this wall, rendered images of appliances like a kitchen sink allow you to get an up-close feel for counter space, combined with a blueprint of the entire home across the floor to visualize where everything is located in relation. Plus, you can freely walk through closets, bathrooms and doorways without ever setting foot on a construction site. For clients, this is a cost-effective alternative to modify materials and dimensions before being finalized for the build.
Showcasing this same concept on Instagram Reels has helped the company go viral, with its biggest success garnering almost 37 million views.
As Walk Your Plans found its bearings, it became the blueprint for a larger business.
“We didn’t even realize what we had,” Matejka says. “People started to say, ‘Can we do a presentation here?’ ‘Can we rent your space for this?’”
The gymnasium already provided both the structure and technology. And at the tail-end of trends like Lighthouse Immersive Inc.’s Immersive Van Gogh experience, which peaked in 2021 before the company filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in 2023, there was a void for immersive spaces to fill.
“We're having an opportunity to really capitalize on that and do some really, really cool things,” Matejka says
(Courtesy The Hall at St. James)
The difference here at The Hall at St. James is that experiences are not limited to art installations. The company advertises weddings, private parties and corporate events, but Matejka and his team have been able to do so much more.
At the click of a computer, the room can transform from a yoga class on the beach, to a life-size Clue game board, to the Muni lot for a Browns tailgate.
Comedy shows, watch parties and disco dances have also come alive in the space. Movie screenings and high-end dinner experiences are also event ideas from Matejka and Joe Stark, director of operations for Walk Your Plans.
“Because we’re a visual company, and because we live in a visual society, so many ideas stem from inspo,” Stark says.
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After opening in 2024, creative ideas have pushed The Hall at St. James forward at full speed. A recent meet and greet with Santa Claus, offered for free to local families, also helped the team realize the space’s quick integration into the community.
“What better way to let people really understand and experience it than just opening the doors,” says Stark.
Partnerships with local vendors and businesses also provide useful networking and offer convenience for those planning a wedding or large-scale event. Regardless of a client’s vision, Matejka and Stark are open to making it happen and learning through it.
“A year ago, I would have said we have about 65-70% of the business figured out. Today, I think we have about 25-30% of the business figured out,” Matejka quips. “I think one of the things that we're pretty good at around here is not mandating our directive to folks — let something breathe, let something develop and kind of germinate it and see where it goes and get an opportunity to grow.”
(Courtesy The Hall at St. James)
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