A recent story in the Birmingham (Ala.) Business Journal reported that so many local nonprofit organizations are competing for private capital to fund their building projects that there might not be enough money to go around. Among those projects is a new $25 million, 4.1-acre headquarters campus for the Salvation Army. Phase 1 of that construction—which includes a renovation of a former elementary school—is being funded by a campaign that raised more than $15 million, including $1 million pledged by Jim Gorrie, CEO of Brasfield & Gorrie, the GC on this project.
Birmingham is among the metros reaping the benefits of a spurt in nonprofit building. A recent article posted on the website of The NonProfit Times singles out several major capital campaigns to finance new construction of museums, hospitals, theaters, and other venues, at a time when contributions from local, state, and federal governments, while still essential to many organizations’ building strategies, aren’t as certain or steady as they once might have been.
Leading this charge has been The Smithsonian, which in October 2014 launched its first-ever fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising $1.5 billion, the largest ever for any cultural institution. (About $1 billion had been pledged even before the campaign officially got rolling.)
A portion of the $540 million 400,000-sf National Museum of African-American History and Culture, which opened in September, was financed by private donations. Most of the Smithsonian’s exhibits and programs are privately funded. And about 40% of the institution’s salaries and maintenance are defrayed by donors, compared to 30% prior to its initiating the fundraising campaign.
The NonProfitTimes also points to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which has offset a decline in income from investments by contributions that rose to $160 million in 2015, from $78 million the previous year, mostly from a handful of major donations.
This museum is currently adding to its Rose Center for Earth and Space with a $325 million, six-story, 218,000-sf Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, scheduled for completion in 2019. The 84-year-old financier and philanthropist Richard Gilder contributed $50 million to this project, the largest single donation in the museum’s history.
New York City kicked in $15 million for this addition. The city is also playing a financing role in other cultural construction projects, such as the 57,500-sf “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibit in Coney Island. The city made a “major gift” to the Harlem Children’s Zone, which in 2015—the first year of its capital campaign—raised $193 million, versus $78 million in 2014.
The Task Force for Global Health, a nonprofit health organization in Decatur, Ga., is working with DeKalb County to acquire a six-story government building that would triple the square footage of this organization’s existing headquarters. The Task Force will soon launch a $15 million capital campaign to pay for the $12 million purchase and renovating the building.
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Former Richardson Romanesque hotel now houses books, not beds
The Piqua (Ohio) Public Library was once a late 19th-century hotel that sat vacant and deteriorating for years before a $12.3 million adaptive reuse project revitalized the 1891 building. The design team of PSA-Dewberry, MKC Associates, and historic preservation specialist Jeff Wray Associates collaborated on the restoration of the 80,000-sf Richardson Romanesque building, once known as the Fort Piqua Hotel. The team restored a mezzanine above the lobby and repaired historic windows, skylight, massive fireplace, and other historic details. The basement, with its low ceiling and stacked stone walls, was turned into a castle-like children’s center. The Piqua Historical Museum is also located within the building.
| Feb 11, 2011
Sustainable community center to serve Angelinos in need
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| Feb 11, 2011
Texas megachurch inspired by yesteryear’s materials, today’s design vocabulary
The third phase of The First Baptist Church of Pasadena, Texas, involves construction of a new 115,000-sf worship center addition. Currently in design by Zeigler Cooper, the project will include a 2,500-seat worship center (with circular layout and space for a 50-person orchestra and 200-person choir), a 500-seat chapel (for weddings, funerals, and special events), and a prayer room. The addition will connect to the existing church and create a Christian Commons for education, administration, music, and fellowship. The church asked for a modern design that uses traditional materials, such as stone, brick, and stained glass. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.
| Feb 11, 2011
Four-story library at Salem State will hold half a million—get this—books!
Salem State University in Massachusetts broke ground on a new library and learning center in December. The new four-story library will include instructional labs, group study rooms, and a testing center. The modern, 124,000-sf design by Boston-based Shepley Bulfinch includes space for 500,000 books and study space for up to a thousand students. Sustainable features include geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
| Jan 21, 2011
Sustainable history center exhibits Fort Ticonderoga’s storied past
Fort Ticonderoga, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., along Lake Champlain, dates to 1755 and was the site of battles in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The new $20.8 million, 15,000-sf Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center pays homage to the French magasin du Roi (the King’s warehouse) at the fort.
| Jan 21, 2011
Library planned for modern media enthusiasts
The England Run Library, a new 30,000-sf glass, brick, and stone building, will soon house more than 100,000 books and DVDs. The Lukmire Partnership, Arlington, Va., designed the Stafford County, Va., library, the firm’s fourth for the Central Rappahannock Library System, to combine modern library-browsing trends with traditional library services.
| Jan 21, 2011
Music festival’s new home showcases scenic setting
Epstein Joslin Architects, Cambridge, Mass., designed the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Mass., to showcase the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, as well at the site’s ocean views.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
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