Construction outside of the Larita Boren Campus Center continues with a projected completion date of June 2027. The goal is to create an expanded space for campus use.
The project will create a larger space to hold chapel services. The building will also become a new space for admissions staff, alumni functions, student events and faculty offices.
During a listening session held Oct. 22, business administrator Andrea Masvero, executive director of 1846 Enterprises, provided multiple slides of the new chapel’s layout. The building will be able to host over 3,300 guests.
Due to feedback from students, staff and architects, the interior diagram has been designed three times, Masvero said. The new chapel will have an emphasis on seating accessible to those with disabilities, balcony viewing and a similar architectural interior to Rediger Auditorium. She hopes this design will physically bring Taylor University into a shared space of worship.
Other than the current demolition on the side of Larita Boren Campus Center, there are no other plans to alter the building. Rediger Auditorium will continue to provide a space for student events. Masvero said that areas upstairs would potentially be converted into staff offices or storage.
“It costs zero dollars to not touch anything,” Masvero said.
Skip Trudeau, vice president for student development & intercollegiate athletics and director of the Master of Arts in Higher Education program, oversees the administrative side of construction.
Trudeau joined Taylor’s staff in 1999 when Taylor was expanding. Before his arrival, buildings such as the Kesler Student Activities Center, Breuninger Hall and the current student center did not exist. Since these past examples of growth benefited Taylor’s campus, he believes current renovations will help Taylor impact more students and gather the entire campus in one space for chapel services.
“New constructions and renovations are a natural next step for us,” Trudeau said.
Keith Cocking, senior director of construction services, was assigned to oversee the project.
The project’s current main goal is to finish demolition. Relocating utilities and bringing in steel beams will be next. Interior details are still being finalized, but Cocking hopes that they will represent Taylor well to future generations of students and staff.
“We’re balancing a bit of how to build into a future we can’t see,” Cocking said. “We’re not limiting ourselves but we don’t want to overbuild or misuse the resources God is giving to Taylor. We are trying to do something [with chapel] that feels familiar and beautiful and elevated.”
Students’ reactions to ongoing construction include both excitement and concern at how this will impact current students’ needs.
Questions at the listening session centered around practical details such as the audiovisual elements planned for the chapel, the changes to the interior design and the possibility of future expansion in the student center or beyond. Students also expressed frustration at the physical length of the construction and disturbances caused by current demolition noise.
Trudeau says that navigating this is a natural part of a growing college community.
“Noise and interruptions are more prominent because we are right on top of one another,” Trudeau said.
Construction has already impacted how students navigate Taylor. Despite inconveniences and challenges, most students have expressed excitement over future growth.
In addition to feedback, students gathered in prayer for the construction project after the listening session.
“I’m encouraged by the amount of prayer around campus, specifically through feedback sessions and meetings that have prayed over this process,” Cocking said.
