Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor; Dr. William Thierfelder, president; and others from Belmont Abbey College broke ground Oct. 3 on the college’s largest capital investment in its history: a 68-room residence hall to accommodate the college’s rising enrollment. (César Hurtado | Catholic News Herald)BELMONT — Ground was broken Oct. 3 on Belmont Abbey College’s latest building project: a 68-room residence hall that will house approximately 136 students.
At $12.4 million, the building project is the largest capital investment in the college’s 143-year history.
The 42,500-square-foot, five-story residence hall will primarily serve upperclassmen but also add new classroom, office and meeting space for the college, where enrollment now exceeds 1,500 students. The building will feature first-floor meeting and lounge areas for students as well as two classrooms. Each floor will also feature a gathering area on each side to help students connect and create community.
MKC Architects designed the new building, located directly across from the Abbey Yard baseball field, to mirror the Gothic architecture prominent on the college’s campus. University Housing Solutions is the contractor for the project.
“We’re one the fastest growing Catholic colleges in the United States,” noted Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College. The new residence hall is designed to accommodate that growth but also foster the college’s “inviting community” that enables students to form long-lasting friendships.
“This new residence hall enables us to give more students that opportunity,” he said, “to come here and get a world-class education, sound formation – especially from a Catholic perspective – and then also have a community that encourages them to grow and live and develop deep friendships.”
The residence hall, the seventh for the college, is expected to be completed in June 2020.
Thierfelder noted that the residence hall will be at full capacity when it opens next year, so the college is already planning a second similar residence hall nearby to meet future growth needs.
The growth of Belmont Abbey College “is an extraordinary blessing,” he said.
Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, prayed at the Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony, “Father, as we begin this good work, we ask the blessing of Your grace” on the college and its community.
The groundbreaking ceremony drew community leaders from Belmont, the Montcross Area Chamber of Commerce, and alumni and supporters of Belmont Abbey College.
Founded in 1876, Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic, baccalaureate and liberal arts institution. Its mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that “in all things God may be glorified.” Guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning, the college welcomes a diverse body of students and provides them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others.
— Catholic News Herald