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Concordia Raising $45M for Campus Renovations

Concordia University Irvine is moving forward with a $45 million renovation of its campus.

The college publicly launched the capital campaign in January to support the construction of a new fitness and training center, as well as the expansion of the pre-existing worship center.

Both projects will build out the heart of Concordia’s campus, according to President Michael Thomas.

“The goal is to build out facilities that we need to serve our students and the Concordia community,” Thomas told the Business Journal.

So far, the school has raised around $38 million, or 85%, of its goal.

Thomas aims to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for both projects in the spring of 2026, in time for Concordia’s 50th anniversary.

Concordia is a Lutheran Christian university with more than 60 undergraduate and graduate programs. It serves 1,500 undergraduate and 1,900 post baccalaureate and graduate students at its Irvine campus.

According to the Business Journal’s annual list of MBA programs, its MBA enrollment climbed 12% to 77 students this year.

Two Major Projects

Construction is already underway on both projects.

Thomas said the university has outgrown the current worship center, which acts as the primary gathering place on campus for music performances, invited speakers and commencement.

Concordia is expanding the number of seats in the Concordia University Center for Worship and the Performing Arts from 500 to 800.

In addition to enhancing lighting and acoustics in the building, the school is putting in place a thrust platform with 270-degree seating and a fully rebuilt Casavant Organ with refurbished pipes.

“All of these additions will make this venue a state-of-the-art facility,” Thomas said.

Concordia in the past has featured guest performances from Pacific Symphony at the CU Center. Thomas said he hopes to welcome more performances from around Orange County with the renovation.

The second project is geared towards improving athletics at Concordia.

The new Golden Eagles Fitness & Training (GEFT) Center will consist of two buildings that will be connected by a skybridge.

The largest building, known as the field house, will be completely dedicated to National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II athletes.

It will have 12,000 square feet of locker room space, capable of supporting up to 10 teams. Other planned amenities include a film room to review plays, massage tables and ice baths for the athletes.

The second building is a 6,000-square-foot fitness center that will be open to all Concordia students. The gym will feature a 5,000-square-foot weight room, set to be the largest within the Division II PacWest Conference, according to officials.

The fitness center will also have a dance room, a strength and conditioning room and outdoor workout areas. On the roof will be a viewing deck for watching softball, baseball, lacrosse and soccer games.

Concordia’s current athletic facilities are spread out in three separate areas across campus.
The new GEFT Center will not only improve the spectator experience but also help recruit more premier athletes to the school, officials said.

About 40% of Concordia’s undergraduate population are student athletes, according to Vice President of University Operations Tim Odle.

“It’s also important when recruiting to get the caliber of people we want here, and for staffing,” Odle said in the summer 2024 issue of Concordia’s magazine.

On 2nd of 4 phases

Concordia dubbed this phase of campus improvements Vision 2025.

Vision 2025 is the second phase of the university’s $200 million, four-phase master plan that was first submitted as a major modification proposal to Irvine City Council in 2015, according to filings.

Concordia received city approval for the project in 2017 despite some residents voicing concerns about the project causing excess traffic in the area.

The first phase resulted in the creation of a 37,500-square-foot music, worship and theology building which opened in October 2019. The Borland-Manske Center, named after Concordia’s Founding President Charles Manske and donors Mike and Caryn Borland, has two wings for the music department and Christ College School of Theology and Church Vocations.

The music wing of the building features a recording studio, orchestra hall, choral rehearsal hall, percussion room and piano instruction room. The Christ College wing has classrooms, conference rooms and a library containing theological works.

The Borland-Manske Center was supported by $29 million raised from a larger capital campaign publicly launched in 2018 for student scholarships, campus improvements and academic programs. Concordia surpassed its initial $85 million goal and closed with $100 million in 2021.

The next two phases of Concordia’s master plan involve the demolition and replacement of administrative and residential buildings.

The entire project is expected to be finished by 2040, according officials. When completed, Concordia will have a total of 320,000 square feet of institutional space and 1,320 beds in the residence halls.

Sees Growth in Nursing

Three miles from Concordia’s main Turtle Rock campus is a 114,000-square-foot building housing the school’s healthcare programs, including its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program.

Last March, Concordia paid $43.5 million for the Spectrum Campus building to accommodate the growth of its nursing program.

ABSN students moved into the new building last August. More healthcare programs are in the works, such as a Master of Science in nursing, enabling graduates to become certified as family nurse practitioners.

Spectrum Campus has increased Concordia’s classroom and office space by 40%, according to Thomas. The 6.6-acre property also includes a 690-space parking lot and structure.

Concordia’s recent focus on healthcare is driven by the university’s belief that healthcare’s a major area of growth in Orange County and that there’s a need for more trained professionals in terms of workforce development.

“Concordia is very attuned to raising up the next generation of employees in Orange County, and we want to meet the needs of the business industry,” Thomas said.

Officials said the building’s close proximity to Kaiser Permanente and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian will increase potential internship and clinical assignment opportunities for students.

Concordia previously leased an 11,000-square-foot Park Place office near John Wayne Airport for its nursing program. When it came time to renew the lease in 2022, the price had gone up substantially and the broker asked leadership if they’d be interested in buying instead.

That’s when they found Spectrum Campus, which was previously used for the nursing school operations of the University of Massachusetts Global, a private education system that rebranded from Brandman University in 2020.

The university had outfitted the building for nursing and medical education training before vacating it in early 2020 once COVID hit.

Concordia saved time and resources it would’ve had to spend on repurposing the building, which already came with 20,000 square feet of nursing teaching space with beds and mannequins.

Besides increasing space for more students, having their own building has allowed for official branding.

The university said it repainted the interior to reflect the school’s signature green and gold colors.

“Students feel like they’re in a Concordia facility because the whole building is branded as part of the Concordia University experience,” Thomas said.

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