For colleges and universities, a new building is a long-term investment. It has to support teaching and research, help recruit and retain students, and serve the campus for decades. It also has to be delivered on an active campus, on a schedule that works around the academic calendar, with funding and approvals that leave little room for surprises.  

Over our 130-year company history, KDW has partnered with Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Nacogdoches, the same community KDW's East Texas office calls home, on numerous projects spanning academics, the arts, athletics, dining, and housing. Each came with its own requirements, and each has deepened KDW's understanding of how a campus works and what a university needs from its construction partner.

Students come and go every four years, but the buildings they learn and live in endure. A campus facility has to be ready for move-in the first week of classes, finals, and every game day in between, and it has to keep performing for the students who arrive decades from now.

With each project, KDW builds on an understanding of how a campus actually works: how students move between classes, how a dining hall handles the lunch rush, how a lab or a theatre needs to perform, and how to keep construction moving on an active campus without disrupting the people who live, learn and work there. KDW brings that understanding to every campus project, helping universities turn their vision for student life into spaces that serve it.

We have completed over 25 projects on the SFA campus. Below is a  look at our most recent higher education projects.  Additionally, we are thrilled to announce our first higher education project outside of East Texas, having been selected to build the STAR Park Building Three building for Texas State University in partnership with Powers Brown Architecture. 

Cole STEM Building | Nacogdoches, TX | 13.5 Acres / 87,000 SF

SFA set out to strengthen its commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education with a facility that could serve as a central hub to this commitment on campus. With a $46.4 million budget approved by the Texas Legislature and the SFA Board of Regents, the Cole STEM Building became that hub.

The 87,000 SF facility includes collaborative classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, a large maker space, and a 52-foot dome planetarium. The design centers on student learning, and a science-themed landscaped corridor connects the new building to existing academic facilities, tying it into the daily flow of campus.

KDW provided land due diligence and construction management for the project, coordinating the many specialized systems that research labs and a planetarium require.

SFA Griffith Fine Arts Center | Nacogdoches, TX | 2 Acres / 129,000 SF

The Griffith Fine Arts Center is home to SFA's College of Fine Arts, including its filmmaking and musical theatre programs. KDW completed the renovation and expansion of the center, giving those programs room to grow.

The 129,000 SF facility includes the renovated W.M. Turner Auditorium, two new theatres, two dance studios, a recording studio, a sound stage, audio and video editing rooms, an art gallery, classrooms, rehearsal spaces, faculty offices, and the College of Fine Arts dean's office.

Spaces like these come with demanding requirements. Acoustics, lighting, and sound isolation all have to work together so that a rehearsal in one room doesn't interrupt a recording session in the next. The result is a building where students can study, practice, and perform under one roof.

Loddie Naymola Basketball Performance Center | Nacogdoches, TX | 1.24 Acres / 54,000 SF

As part of a larger campus expansion, KDW built a 54,000 SF, two-story basketball performance center for SFA's men's and women's basketball programs. The new facility connects to the existing arena, where both teams play their home games, through a new underground tunnel.

The lower level includes a full-size practice court and two shootaround courts, which also serve the university's summer camps. It also holds a film room, player lounges and locker rooms for both teams, and an athletic training room with hydrotherapy and nutrition offerings. The upper level features the entry lobby, coaches' offices, conference rooms, a weight room, and a balcony where coaches, donors, and visitors can watch practice on the courts below.

The facility gives SFA's student-athletes a dedicated place to train, recover, and prepare steps away from where they compete.

SFA Pineywoods Dining Hall | Nacogdoches, TX | 2 Acres / 20,000 SF

Pineywoods Dining Hall is the University of Texas System's first mass timber building. The 20,000 SF facility seats 600 and includes 5,000 SF of outdoor patio space. Its mass timber structure highlights East Texas forestry resources utilizing locally sourced materials, a fitting choice for a university whose roots are in the Piney Woods.

KDW delivered the project through a multi-phased design and construction management approach. The first phase included demolition of the existing Residence Hall 16 and site utility preparation. The second phase covered mass timber erection, MEP systems, and interior fit-out, including kitchen equipment coordination.

Mass timber requires close coordination between suppliers, specialty contractors, and equipment vendors. KDW managed those relationships and delivered the dining hall on schedule, giving students a new place to gather in the center of campus.

SFA Lumberjack Crossing | Nacogdoches, TX | 96,950 SF

The partnership continues with Lumberjack Crossing, a new four-story, 96,950 SF residence hall that will house approximately 336 students. KDW is partnering with Kirksey Architecture to deliver the project.

The hall will include 160 double rooms with shared restrooms between neighboring rooms, 16 single rooms (half of them ADA accessible), and a Hall Director suite. Shared spaces include three student lounges and nine small study rooms. A full staff suite adds a reception area, offices, student worker workspaces, two conference rooms, a locker room, and a break area. Lumberjack Crossing ties into the chilled water and heating lines at the nearby Pineywoods Dining Hall. Early “make ready” packages for demolition, site prep, infrastructure, and foundations will keep the schedule moving toward substantial completion in summer 2028.

Construction is officially underway on Lower Kirby Business Park, and KDW is proud to be serving as general contractor. Our team recently gathered with Welcome Group and Thorpe Plant Maintenance & Engineering on site in Pearland to mark the start of the project.

About the Project

Lower Kirby Business Park is a 25-acre, master-planned industrial campus at 15020 Kirby Drive, near the southwest corner of Beltway 8 and State Highway 288. When complete, it will bring 250,450 square feet of Class A industrial space to Pearland across four buildings.

The campus is part of Pearland’s 1,200-acre Lower Kirby District, a growing mixed-use corridor with direct access to Sam Houston Tollway and Highway 288. It’s about 20 miles south of downtown Houston and less than 20 minutes from William P. Hobby Airport, giving future tenants access to Houston’s ports, industrial centers and workforce.

What We’re Building

The four buildings are designed for manufacturing, logistics and distribution users, with room to expand. Features include:

• Tilt-wall construction
• Clear heights up to 34 feet
• Three-phase 480V power up to 3,000 amps
• 20-ton crane-ready capabilities
• Flexible office configurations

Welcoming the First Tenant

Thorpe Plant Maintenance & Engineering has signed an 87,450-square-foot lease for Building D, the largest building on the campus. Thorpe will bring several of its Houston-area operations together in one place, housing manufacturing, engineering, fabrication, warehousing and field services support under one roof.

As Welcome Wilson Jr., President and CEO of Welcome Group, put it: “Lower Kirby Business Park represents the kind of industrial development we’ve focused on for decades: creating facilities that support how businesses operate and grow.”

Looking Ahead

Delivery is expected in the second quarter of 2027. We’re looking forward to watching this campus take shape and will share progress along the way.

KDW is serving as construction manager on Ofland Smoky Mountains, a new 75-cabin outdoor hotel from Ofland Hotels and the company's first property in Tennessee. The project broke ground in Townsend on September 15^th, marking the start of construction on a boutique outdoor hotel located just minutes from the Cades Cove entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park via Laurel Creek Road. The groundbreaking ceremony brought together Ofland Hotels leadership, Townsend city representatives, and the project's partners, including KDW, architecture firm Boundary Works, cabin manufacturer Wind River Built, and local builder Tyson & Associates. About the Project Ofland Smoky Mountains will sit on nearly 28 acres and include 75 cabins, 71 standard and four ADA-accessible. Each cabin will feature a studio-style layout with a queen bed and queen sofa bed, a kitchenette, an en-suite bathroom, and a private open-air shower, along with a wrap-around deck, rocking chairs, and a wood-burning campfire ring with a grill and picnic table. The property's lodge will serve as its common area, housing the front desk, a general store, fire pits, and a food counter serving a Southern-inspired breakfast and dinner menu. Additional amenities include a heated pool, an oversized hot tub, campfire kits for fireside meals, and an outdoor drive-in movie theater with vintage trucks and seating for up to 150 guests. Design Rooted in Place The cabins are custom-built off-site by Wind River Built, a Tennessee-based modular construction company. The lodge and general store draw their design from the historic architecture of Appalachia, with natural wood siding, deep porches, and low-slung rooflines built to weather the Southern climate. Ofland Hotels CEO Noah Ellis described the approach in an interview with Knox News: "Townsend actually feels like the mountains. It's quieter. It moves a little more slowly. We want guests to feel like they've gotten the best of the Smokies, not just the souvenir shops." Investment in the Townsend Community Ofland Hotels has invested more than $25 million in the development, the largest investment in the privately owned company's history. The project is expected to bring approximately 30 new permanent jobs to the Townsend community. What's Next Ofland Smoky Mountains is expected to open in summer 2027, with reservations becoming available in January 2027. Cabin rates will start at $249 per night with no resort or pet fees, and the property will also be available for buyouts and special events. This marks Ofland Hotels' second outdoor property, following the 2021 opening of its flagship, Ofland Escalante, in Utah. A third property, Ofland Zion, is also in development in Utah. KDW is proud to bring its construction management expertise to this project, adding to a growing portfolio of hospitality and commercial work across Texas, Tennessee, and beyond.