Construction on Christian Student Fellowship building to be completed by fall 2023
February 28, 2023
Construction of the new $10.5 million Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) building located on Woodland Avenue is set to be finished by mid-fall 2023.
The old CSF building, located on the same lot, was knocked down in June 2021.The new CSF building has been under construction since fall 2021, according to Gabe Measner, the director of philanthropy at CSF.
The new building will be approximately 37,000 square feet, greatly outnumbering the old building, which stood at approximately 9,000 square feet.
The head campus minister, Brian Marshall, who is overlooking the construction, said CSF outgrew the old building.
According to Marshall, the total construction cost of the new building will reach approximately $10.5 million by the end of the project. This totals to approximately $300 per square foot.
CSF is not UK-funded, meaning the organization raised the money for the new building themselves. The amenities of this building will be open to all students, not just those involved with CSF.
The new building will have three floors, including a basement, with handicap accessible bathrooms located on every floor, according to Marshall.
There will be a gymnasium in the basement which will have a full size basketball court. The basement will also feature a video game room which CSF calls “HQ.”
The first floor will overlook the gymnasium below and will have a small coffee shop to the right of the main entrance, according to the blueprints presented by Marshall and Measner.
The second floor will host the worship space, which can hold between 600 and 700 people. Marshall said this space will be used for worship, pancake nights and any parties hosted by CSF. The smaller prayer chapel, which can hold between 50 and 100 people, will also be located on the second floor.
The building will have many small and large study rooms which, according to Marshall, can be used for group projects, reading time or Bible study.
The new building will house approximately 40 staff members in addition to the six residents who Marshall explained will act as residential advisors. CSF hopes for the building’s hours to be from 8 a.m. to midnight, if not longer, according to Marshall and Measner.
An industrial style kitchen is an added feature of the new CSF building. Marshall said he is particularly excited about this aspect of the construction because CSF serves approximately 25,000 free meals to students per year.
According to Marshall, a certain space is never dedicated to a certain thing, every space is a dual- or even triple-use space.
“We want to beat the fire out of this building,” Marshall said.
