Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Northwestern College Breaks Ground on New Residence Hall

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/10/23

Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, recently broke ground on a new, all-women’s residence hall, according to local news. The three-story facility will measure in at 45,000 square feet and cost an estimated $14 million. It will have the capacity for 157 beds and consist of two wings with two dorms on each side, as well as a large central gathering area and other common spaces on each floor. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first week of May and be complete by July 2024, local news reports.

“We can’t do without the facility that we have now, so this building will be constructed now and be ready by the summer of 2024,” said Northwestern College President Greg Christy. “So we’ll keep Colter Brenner Hall online until then, and then when we move into this new facility, we’ll take [it] down after we’ve moved into this new residence hall.” Christy cited increasing recruitment numbers as the cause for both building the new residence hall and keeping the old one active as long as possible.

The college also announced that the new residence hall will be named Christy Suites in honor of its president and his wife, Michelle. According to a college news release, the decision was made in response to a request from the project’s lead donors. Christy has served as president of Northwestern for fifteen years and has led efforts to construct or renovate ten new buildings and increase enrollment to a record 1,712 students, the release reports.

“I was speechless,” said Greg Christy. “I am deeply humbled and honored that they would think of doing something in honor of Michelle and me. It’s been a real honor to serve an institution that holds Christ-centered ideals. We have a very supportive board of trustees and dedicated and talented faculty and staff. Michelle and I believe deeply in the mission of Northwestern, and we believe deeply in our faculty and staff. It’s just a privilege to serve alongside them.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Agricultural Sciences Complex has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • R.I. District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Elementary School

    Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, R.I., recently announced the completion of Gladstone Elementary School, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot facility serves as a replacement for the 1950s-era former building, and it consolidates the student, faculty, and staff populations of Gladstone and Arlington Elementary Schools.