As the 2025 – 2026 school year at Taylor University concludes, several construction projects around campus will continue through Summer and Fall 2026.
The new chapel and welcome center, built next to the LaRita Boren Campus Center, has a projected completion date of June 2027. Steel framing is up already and will continue to go up until mid July, Keith Cocking, senior director of construction services, said.
The new campus addition will be a center for worship, community and academic resources, with departments such as admissions planning, alumni efforts and faculty offices moving to the new area. The main focus of the project’s design is to accommodate Taylor’s quickly growing student body.
Another major addition to campus is the construction of Gentile Hall, a co-ed residence hall announced in November 2025. Its construction began in early April. The new residence hall is named for longtime Taylor supporters Paul and Barbara Gentile.
“Paul Gentile was an Emeritus Board member when I came in 1999,” said Skip Trudeau, the vice president of student development and intercollegiate athletics. “He and Mrs. Gentile were dear long-term Taylor friends. They were great examples of the good neighbors we want Taylor students to be.”
Much of the residence hall exterior is precast, said Cocking. Panels of walls are constructed off-site in Michigan, then transported to Taylor’s campus and pieced together to form a “shell.”
The interior of Gentile Hall is divided into a west side and east side. The west half, constructed in an “L” shape, will be available for students to move into Fall 2026. The upcoming semester will be dedicated to finishing the interior of the east half.
“Last year we didn’t have one panel in place,” said Trudeau. “Now one half of the third floor is done.”
When it is complete, Gentile Hall will include seven different wings, with men and women divided by floor. In Fall 2026 one male floor and two female floors will be open. Montana Arns, current Olson Hall director, will be transferring to the new residence hall to lead the incoming Personnel Assistants (PAs) and Discipleship Assistants (DAs).
The first floor will also include a new space for the Spencer Center for Global Engagement, the hall directors and the Honors Guild.
“As campus is growing, there is a need for multiple types of spaces,” Andrea Masvero, business administrator and executive director of 1846 Enterprises, said. “Gentile Hall is an example of serving multiple needs under its constructed roof.”
Another project in the pre-construction phase is the outdoor Bond-Servant Plaza, built in the center of campus. It will consist of a turf lawn for fellowship and daily use, outdoor seating options and an amphitheater for concerts and events. Its main focal point is a large cross expressing Taylor’s shared faith.
Other pre-construction projects on campus include a recording studio gifted by gospel musicians Bill and Gloria Gaither, a new track and field building, intramural fields and expanded parking options. The Calling and Career Office and the Jumping Bean in the LaRita Boren Student Center will be relocated and renovated. The old Relief Room in Reade will also be remodeled, receiving new technology for international teaching purposes.
The majority of these smaller projects will be worked on during the summer and conclude before the Fall 2026 school year. It is one example of the rapid growth Taylor has been experiencing as a college and a community.
This is not the first time Taylor has seen rapid growth on campus. Masvero reflected on the impact similar periods of time in the later ‘60s and early ‘90s had on Taylor’s history, impacting people and places students know today. She expressed excitement for Taylor being seen as a source for high-quality Christian academics through interest in the expansion to come.
“I appreciate the way Taylor leadership is so intentional about managing our growth,” Masvero said. “The world needs more Taylor graduates ministering God’s grace and truth.”
