The front fountain on campus has been an ongoing topic of discussion for the past few months as it has sat empty, awaiting plans for a redesign.
Now the project’s timeline and scope are beginning to take shape as the campus community sees caution tape and construction equipment begin preliminary work on what will become a refreshed look for one of the university’s most visible spaces.
BJU Provost David Fisher, the executive vice president over campus operations, said the university has been told construction should ramp up around April 1 for a four-month construction process.
“The plan is for the construction to be complete for the university centennial celebration in August,” Dr. Fisher said. “The initial design has gone back to the landscapers and architects and then has gone to the contractor, and they’ve got to fine-tune all those drawings in order to get the permits from the city. And that’s going longer than what we anticipated.”
Initially, BJU hoped to fix the leaking fountain, and discussed repair plans last school year, but the fountain needed extensive and costly work to renovate. In December 2025, Dr. Fisher announced plans to renovate the fountain altogether. A team under his direction planned this major renovation and provided an update on its progress.
Chief Operations Officer Brian Burch, Mr. Drew Ellis of Facilities Management and Vice Provost Laurilyn Hall are part of the project team.
Mrs. Hall is the design specialist and member of the Building Use and Construction Committee.
“Preparations for construction continue to progress and we look forward to the demolition phase beginning in the coming weeks,” she said.
While the front campus project is taking longer to begin than expected, the BJU facilities team has started preliminary landscaping and irrigation excavation.
The project is currently in the permitting phase.
“We’re working on the contractor, and everybody’s working on the permits with the city,” Dr. Fisher said. “So we’re doing as much as we can to get ready when [the contractors] start, but we’re at the mercy of the city permits.”
But a project this large is not without its challenges.
“The biggest challenge in the design phase was to refresh this landmark space with a fresh look while preserving the signature front campus aesthetic and achieving that goal within a responsible investment range,” Mrs. Hall said.
The new designs reflect the look of front campus from its early years. A straight sidewalk will connect the two sides of campus rather than a bridge crossing a fountain.
Dr. Fisher said that the project team is already planning ways to manage vehicular and pedestrian traffic as construction begins.
“Any construction project requires a detailed process, and there are multiple parties involved,” Mrs. Hall said. “It can sometimes move slower than we would like, but that slow and detailed process is key to ensuring a successful outcome.”
While the project will not be completed by commencement, the events office and administration are already planning to make the graduation events special.
Commenting on the front campus project, Mrs. Hall said, “We are excited for what is to come!”
