Dignitaries gather for the traditional “groundbreaking” pose to celebrate the construction of Lancer Lofts. Left to right are: Kevin Scully, Principle & Architect at Design Collaborative; Mark Pohl, Director of Admissions at Grace; Aaron Crabtree, Dean of Students at Grace; Janelle Ditmer, Senior Resident Director at Grace; Bruce Shaffner, Winona Lake Town Board president; Dr. Bill Katip, Grace President; Dr. Jim Custer, Grace College and Seminary Board Chair; Jackie Seal, Student Body President at Grace; Janine Zeltwanger, board secretary; Jim Swanson, vice president of academic and student affairs at Grace; and Drew Mitchell, VP Development at Holladay Properties.

Officials at Grace College and Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind., broke ground on Thursday for a new dorm that will house 80 students in townhouse style living. Rain forced the ceremony inside to a room overlooking the proposed dorm site in Mount Memorial Hall.

The school’s record enrollments for the past several years have resulted in a need for more on-campus housing. After completing a new dorm last August, Grace is now ready to break ground on an 80-bed townhouse-style dorm that will be completed in time for students to move in August 2014. The dorm will be a three-story building located on the corner of Kings Highway and Seventh Street. It will feature brownstone facing, front and back porches, and an outdoor community space.

The dorm is a project of Design Collaborative, the architect firm that designed the Lodge and the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, and is developed by Holladay Properties, a South Bend, Indiana-based commercial real estate firm. Click here for photos of the new dorm’s location, floor plans, renderings and a construction schedule.