Glenda, you look great and I love how your son is cuddling up to you and also how you didn't let the fender bender get the best of you. You make each day a masterpiece. Frame that picture girl.

I live behind a public elementary school, 662 students. There is a 60 ft. wooded buffer between my back yard and the school property. The kids are out at recess for a two hour staggered span, so yes, there are little voices "chirping" during that time but I think of it as youthful energy surging through the universe. (Although there are terrified sounding screaming sometimes, I wonder what they are up to). Lots of soccer and basketballs wind up in the buffer zone, so that would be a pro if you needed one. The only real con is during end of day pickup. The car waiting lane wraps around the street in front of my house and some of the people are so rude, it's unbelievable. Many of them block our driveways as they wait and get quite argumentative if I'm trying to come into my driveway at that time. It's only for about 20 minutes a day, so I try to ignore it. Although I do worry about the children of the rude parents, especially the one who wouldn't let me in my driveway, wouldn't even pull up five feet for me to squeeze in. When I asked her to not block my driveway in the future, she said, "What choice do I have?" Duh.....how about, leave my driveway open? I once lived down the street from a Catholic church. they had a large parking lot but on Friday evenings, it overfloweth and people parked on the street. They didn't block driveways as they were parked, not waiting in their cars, but they did stomp all over any flowers parked near the curb. Again, it's not all the time, just at peak times or special events. I once lived about four blocks from a community college in a setting with neighborhoods all around it. That was the worst. Don't know if they didn't have enough parking or if they charged students to park there and folks were trying to save money, but people parked in front of the house a lot. It was only during the week and primarily daytime hours, so when I was at work the same hours, it didn't impact me, but when I worked from home, it was quite annoying as the street was narrow and people parked on both sides. Made it treacherous to navigate as young adults are not very aware of their surroundings and I was always concerned one would step out from between the cars and I'd hit them. @chicagoans advice is the best, go to the location at various times and see how it is. If it makes you crazy as a visitor, it will really make you crazy as a resident. Also, check the zoning of the properties. You indicated one had less than stellar attendance. They may sell out and move to a different property if the property value is increasing. Zoning can change of course, but make sure you know what could be with current zoning. If the property is zoned for only specific types of commercial that have impacts you can live with, that's good.

I've done a lot of cooking, cleaning up, eating, and sign ups at our church, but I'll warn that I'm not a designer so I'm hoping others weigh in. Is there meant to be meal prep in there? (E.g., if the church serves meals, is this the only space for it? Or is this just for coffee and other refreshments?) Your kitchen area design looks too closed - anyone working in there could get hemmed in / stuck by others. So I'd want something with two ways to get in and out - either L with island or just one long wall with an island. (See rough layouts below.) Instead of round bistro tables, I'd opt for square tables that could be pushed together as needed. I'd keep flooring consistent throughout to give you flexibility in placing furniture.

I am so glad you posted after pictures. This looks so much better! It's warm and inviting. Great color for the stairs and the ceiling of the portico. The planter benches add warmth to the space. I would sit and linger there. Well done!