Construction on the LSU Foundation Center for Philanthropy is projected to be finished by summer 2016. The space now occupies the undeveloped lot across from Tiger Stadium.
A local architecture firm, Holden Architects, and an international firm, HKS, are the architects behind the project, said Sara Crow, senior director of Communications and donor relations for the LSU Foundation. Milton J. Womack, Inc. is the project’s contractor. Construction began in May 2015.
Crow said the new center will allow Foundation staffers to operate in one facility. The philanthropy group carries out its work from four separate buildings on campus: Thomas Boyd Hall, the Lod Cook Alumni Center, the Louisiana Emerging Technology Center and the TigerTalk Call Center.
The Foundation pays rent to use these spaces, Crow said, limiting the ability to hire new staff since the staff is so spread out.
The new center will keep the Foundation better organized, Crow said.
“That would enable [us] to bring the team together,” Crow said. “That allows [us] to achieve some efficiency and collaboration and development work on behalf of LSU.”
Crow said the project costs $10 million and is privately funded by donations from former and current members of the LSU Foundation Board of Directors. Any remaining costs will be covered by a low-interest mortgage and money previously used to rent out office space, according to the Center for Philanthropy Fact Sheet.
The new building is parallel to Nicholson Drive and adjacent to Tiger Stadium. After learning that peer universities, such as Texas A&M University and University of Florida, saw an increase in funding after placing foundations’ buildings close to their football stadiums, the LSU Foundation decided to do the same. Crow said having the building in an area with high-level traffic will highlight the importance of philanthropic support to the university.
The location will also help develop the large tract of university property near campus, according to the Center for Philanthropy Fact Sheet.
Like many of the buildings on campus, the structure will feature beige adobe walls and red-tiled roofing.
“This building will honor all of those traditional elements,” Crow said. “We feel very confident that the building will be a place that feels and looks like LSU.”
The building will be three-stories and approximately 40,000 square feet, according to the Center for Philanthropy Fact Sheet, and house conference spaces, offices, workspaces, a lobby area and terraces that provide a view of Tiger Stadium.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Karen Welsh

Womack INC general contractor is doing construction Friday October 9, 2015 at Nicholson and North Stadium Drive.