Plunging shovels into piles of soft earth, students, school administrators, builders, architects, and members of the Leo community marked the beginning of construction for a new fieldhouse coming to campus in 2026. With construction managed by WCI and design led by Garmann Miller on behalf of East Allen County Schools, this addition is just the first of many projects on the timeline for the district this year, as they look to maintain, renovate, and expand their diverse learning environments for current students and those to come.
Student Athletics Hub
The 34,000 square foot building will support multiple sports-related programs with spaces facilitating various activities:
3 Basketball Courts
Batting Cages
Wrestling Training Rooms
Track
Mezzanine
New Roads and Parking Access
Concessions Building
Vestibule
Retractable Bleachers
Educational Excellence
These features in the new fieldhouse serve to strengthen Leo Junior Senior High School’s athletic programming across several different sports. With the added space, school teams will no longer have to share the same areas to practice, streamlining schedules and simplifying logistics for students and parents. On top of improved coordination, the addition will also create an impact reaching past its physical attributes.
“…The true power of this project is not in the square footage or the programming. It’s in what this facility will do for the students, the staff, and the broader East Allen community. Inside these walls, young athletes will cultivate more than just growth in their skill and their strength. They’ll build confidence, character, and community. They’ll forge relationships, learn resilience, and discover how to compete with integrity.” – Larry Weigand, CEO, Weigand Construction
The sight lines are also aimed at higher than just sports. For East Allen County Schools, it’s a promise to continue promoting environments where students thrive.
“This groundbreaking isn’t just about laying the foundation for a building; it’s about the opportunities it will afford. And it will stand as a testament to our collective commitment to excellence in academics, athletics, and arts.” – Marilyn Hissong, Superintendent, EACS
On a gray April morning that gradually faded into spring sunshine, the Goshen community gathered at 1730 Regent Street to celebrate the grand opening of a long-anticipated project: a new baseball and softball complex. This event marked a significant milestone in the city’s commitment to youth athletics.
Nestled behind Prairie View Elementary on Goshen’s south side, the new complex is now the unified home for RedHawk baseball and softball. The facility features two synthetic turf fields, LED stadium lighting, covered dugouts, digital scoreboards, batting cages, and dedicated bullpens. A central building houses amenities like locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and a concession stand for players and fans in one location.
“This project came to life through the collective support of many in our community who believed in this vision,” said Goshen High School Principal Cathy DeMeyer. “We couldn’t be prouder to unveil this top-tier facility.”
Replacing Phend Field and the flood-prone diamond at Shanklin Park, the new complex feels more like a homecoming than a farewell. “The community made a conscious decision to bring baseball and softball together in one shared space,” noted Superintendent Jim DuBois. “That’s what led us to choose this site. And now, playing on these high-quality fields will only help our programs grow and thrive.”
RedHawks Take to the Field
The grand opening featured a RedHawk baseball doubleheader, starting with a dominant 13-run win over La Porte — their highest-scoring game of the season. Junior Bryson Wilson made a standout effort on the mound, pitching five solid innings and notching his first RBIs of the year at the plate.
On the adjacent softball field, the RedHawk girls took on Fairfield High School in a hard-fought game that ended in a 9–5 loss, but not without undeniable energy.
“Seeing our RedHawks step onto these fields is incredibly rewarding,” said Athletic Director Jim Pickard. “I’m grateful to everyone who played a role in bringing this vision to life.”
Building a New Legacy
Construction kicked off in June 2024, with Weigand leading the build. Karen Fisher of Barton Coe Vilamaa headed up the design team, while Andy Bearman and his crew at A&Z Engineering managed critical components like drainage, lighting, and grandstand infrastructure.
“Our priority was delivering a high-quality project,” said Brian Blight, Senior Project Manager at Weigand, “Staying on schedule was critical to ensure the teams were ready for the 2025 season.”
A two-month delay in permitting could have derailed the schedule, but the construction team, led by Blight, Superintendent RJ Eck, and Project Engineer Brandon Hartstein, made up for lost time. “Everyone pulled together and worked in the same direction to make it happen,” Blight said.
One of the complex’s standout features is its advanced drainage system. “Water drains so efficiently that within 15 minutes, you can be back on the field and barely know it rained,” Blight explained. “Short of severe weather, these fields are ready for play almost anytime.”
First Pitches from Goshen Leaders
Two well-known figures, Ken Mirer and Paula Meyers, threw the ceremonial first pitches. Mirer, a longtime Goshen coach who guided the baseball team to five straight sectional titles, a regional championship, and led the football team to two Indiana Class AA state titles, expressed his excitement about the new fields.
“This is unbelievable — it’s as well done as I could have imagined or hoped for,” he said. “There’s a lot of pride behind it.”
Meyers, a Goshen alumna and longtime school employee, has been an advocate for softball facility upgrades and was instrumental in bringing this project to life.
The new complex reflects a broader community investment. “It’s more than a field — it’s a symbol of equity, progress, and the value we place on giving our students the best,” DuBois said, “and the impact goes beyond high school athletics.”
Inspiring Student-Athletes
Already, the fields are slated to host IHSAA sectionals in softball (2025) and baseball (2026). Youth leagues and summer camps are also expected to use the complex, deepening Goshen’s role as a regional sports destination.
Student-athletes are noticing the difference. Olivia Garcia, a a junior who plays both JV and varsity softball, says the upgraded field has strengthened her team. “Having a new field has brought us closer together,” she said. “Being able to experience something new is a great opportunity that we’ve been given. It’s motivated us to give it our all.”
That kind of energy wasn’t always easy. “The old field had dips and mud,” Blight said. “It was tough to maintain, especially in the spring. Now, they have something on par with college programs.”
The complex also serves as a powerful reminder of Goshen’s enduring community spirit. “This is a tight-knit community,” Mirer said. “Back in the day, we’d pack the gym for every basketball game — about 4,000 people. And it wasn’t just families with kids playing; it was people who had played here themselves. That pride carries from one generation to the next. Goshen has always had tremendous community support, and that continues.”
Christ Chapel at Hillsdale College, located in south-central Michigan, is gaining national recognition for its classical beauty and the craftsmanship behind its construction.
Built by Weigand Construction, the chapel was awarded Best Brick & Stone Project at the 2025 International Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC)Craft Awards. This honor places Christ Chapel at the forefront of masonry craftsmanship, highlighting the enduring skills of BAC partners. (Weigand is a BAC signatory contractor, certified in specialized masonry work such as grouting and reinforced masonry.)
Construction of the chapel took place between 2017 and 2019, making it the first religious building of its size to be completed in the United States in over 70 years. The chapel boasts a striking 70-foot facade that leads into a sanctuary accommodating 1,350 worshippers beneath a 64-foot painted barrel ceiling. Eight Doric limestone columns support the entrance portico, while the altar is framed with elegant marble Corinthian detailing. The structure is crowned by a 32-foot self-supporting masonry dome, the largest built in over 50 years.
A Crowning Achievement
“The recognition feels like winning the Super Bowl for construction masons,” says architect Duncan Stroik, who designed the chapel in a Neoclassical style inspired by Christopher Wren and early American churches. Stroik is a founding professor at Notre Dame’s classical architecture program and has over 35 years of experience in practicing and teaching sacred architecture.
With its primary design motif being Doric and enhanced with Renaissance details, Christ Chapel remains rooted in tradition. This choice reflects a deliberate homage to the enduring legacy and spiritual significance of Western architecture.
Strong Legacy in Skilled Craftmanship
Since 1986, the BAC Craft Awards have highlighted outstanding craftsmanship and union service, showcasing not only technical excellence but also the cultural impact of construction artistry.
Christ Chapel is now among the distinguished recipients of this award — a place where liturgical beauty meets brick and mortar and where modern construction revives classical inspiration. Its significance extends beyond aesthetics; it serves as a beloved community landmark. “The chapel elevates the spirit,” Stroik says. “It gives form to faith.”
Students, project partners, and school faculty gathered to kick off construction of their new Student Activity Center. Members of the architectural team, school facilities, and our own construction team took to the podium to speak. Sharing the origins of this exciting addition and its benefits, the ceremony finished with students, teachers, and administrators digging up fresh dirt, officially beginning the building phase.
“We are so ecstatic to get this off the ground. I would also like to show our gratitude to Weigand Construction and Garmin Miller…the quality and dedication that Weigand and Garmin Miller have brought to the table for Fairfield Community Schools has been extremely, extremely professional.” – Carrie Cannon, Superintendent, Fairfield Community Schools
The Breakdown
Part of a $30M project that packages renovations and improvements to Fairfield’s existing campus, The Student Activity Center will include:
Two Stories
Two Lane Track
Bleacher Section with 640 Seats
Batting Cages
Mezzanine
Lobby
Basketball Courts
Volleyball Courts
Multi-Use Spaces for Events and After School Programs
One challenge the school faces is the lack of room for clubs, workshops, and sports team practices. Fairfield administrators noted that these features would play a vital role in supporting the school’s extracurricular activities, creating more space for large groups to meet for academic and athletic purposes.
Serving the Community
Seeing the potential of what a project like this could do for the community, it was crucial that our team bring the best building solutions possible to the table. We’re encouraged by the passion and involvement the Fairfield Community demonstrated over the course of planning this project.
“We heard about this project back in December of 2022…in that timeframe we’ve witnessed a tremendous amount of involvement from this community, and there’s no doubt that you all care greatly about what we’re doing here. At Weigand, our why is that we build landmarks that impact the lives and communities that we serve, and there’s no doubt that’s what we’re doing here and I’m grateful to be a part of it.” – Aaron Holy, Director of Operations South Bend, Weigand Construction
The Norwell community was elated as we celebrated the opening of their new middle school building. Joined by project partners Schmidt Architects, ERI, and Weigand Construction, Superintendent Mike Springer noted that collaboration helped to bring this project together. Not only so, but our team delivered this building more than a month ahead of schedule. This ensured that faculty and staff would have ample time to transfer their offices and arrange their classrooms well before the start of the fall semester.
Students Welcome
The new two-floor, 160,000 square foot middle school building is fitted to help meet current and future space needs as its student influx grows with features such as:
Media Center
Band and Choir Rooms
Art Classrooms
Commons Spaces
Science Classrooms
Multipurpose Rooms
Resource Rooms
Intense Intervention Classrooms
Sensory Room
Skills Development
Dedicated Alternative School Space
Office Wing
And More
This project also included some new additions and renovations to the existing baseball and football fields on the campus sports complex. These included:
Steel Archway Entrance
Football Building with Concessions, Bathrooms, and Ticket Booth
Baseball Building with Concessions, Bathrooms, and Ticket Booth
These features set Norwell Middle School up for success with future education programs, student learning experiences, and improved daily operations. Prepared to address a wide range of needs both academic and athletic, students and faculty can now enjoy the many benefits that their brand-new facility offers.
Proud Partner
We’re excited to have played a role in taking this amazing project from a blueprint to real bricks and mortar. Our team is currently hard at work on Phase II of this project, which will involve demolition and renovation of the old middle school building.
A sound of hope and anticipation echoed through many in the Purdue Fort Wayne community as they witnessed the official construction kickoff for their new music center addition. The Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building, whose name was unveiled at the ceremony, is the fulfillment of a vision first set in 2018 when the School of Music first opened at PFW.
A Best-in-Class Facility
The Surack-Sweetwater Music Industry Building will act as an addition to the Rhinehart Music Center, providing more studio, rehearsal, and classroom space with a focus on recording, mixing, and mastering music. The $25M, 26,000 square foot building will have:
Two Studios
Rehearsal Rooms
Storage Spaces
Equipment Checkout
Editing Rooms
Classrooms
Office and Conference Space
Tracking Room
Isolation Rooms
And More
Sporting a modern, sleek design that still captures the overall look and feel of PFW’s larger campus, students will have access to industry-level technology, helping fine tune their sound as they learn to produce professional audio.
Made Possible Through Donors
This project moved forward through the coordinated efforts of contributors such as the Auer Foundation and the Surack Family, as well as many private donors. The Indiana General Assembly also played a role in securing funding by apportioning their budget to offset a large portion of the construction cost.
Construction Phase Now Online
We are excited to begin building this incredible new addition to the PFW Music Center. We’re humbled to have the opportunity to once again partner with PFW and Design Collaborative on this amazing project for the benefit of students, faculty, and the music industry in Fort Wayne as a whole. Here’s to building landmarks that impact the lives and communities we serve!
Excitement from many months of anticipation was felt as the Canterbury Community came together to officially open its new Fine Arts Center. Joined by the project team, the board of trustees, and key project donors, the group cut the ribbon, highlighting the final milestone since construction began in May of 2023.
“The campus has transformed dramatically with the Fine Arts Center now serving as a welcoming front door to the High School Campus.” – Larry Weigand, CEO, Weigand Construction
Designed for the Arts
Developed as the central hub for Canterbury’s Academy of the Arts, the new, 18,000 square foot facility has several specialized offerings for students such as:
A Gallery
2D Art Studio
3D Art Studio
Blackbox Theatre
Theatre Dressing Rooms
Music Classroom
Choral Room
Practice Rooms
Recording and Podcasting Studios
Media Lab
And More!
These features allow for a diverse range of artistic disciplines for students to discover, explore, and hone throughout their learning journeys. Not only that, but access to this facility will be available for students in every grade, allowing them to foster creativity at all stages of their education.
More Lasting than Bronze
This tremendous effort strengthening Canterbury’s educational experience resulted in a structure set to make an impact on every student passing through its doors.
“In the building that stands behind us, our students, guided by their incredible teachers, will produce art that will last a lifetime. We could not be more thankful to the Surack and James families, and to all of our donors for your support. You have, in the words of Horace, helped us to construct ‘a monument more lasting than bronze.’” – David Jackson, Head of School, Canterbury School
We cannot wait to see how students’ creativity flourishes through the programs at the Canterbury Fine Arts Center in the years to come!
Donors, partners, and members of the Hillsdale College community came together to experience the new Sajak Media Center, complete with sets and special lighting filling the space! Named after the project’s primary donor, Pat Sajak, the former Wheel of Fortune Host and current Hillsdale Board of Trustees Chairman, the Sajak Media Center is a 6,453 square foot facility with the space and equipment to support Hillsdale’s wide array of media projects.
Before this new facility was completed, the Hillsdale Media Team would shoot their marketing and educational content in a studio in the Knorr Student Center basement. As their operations began to expand, the team’s output quickly outgrew the studio, creating a rising need for a new home for their video production.
A Defining Upgrade
The Sajak Media Center was conceptualized to help not only meet the Hillsdale Media Team’s immediate needs, but also support their growth going forward into the future with features like:
State-of-the-Art Soundproofing
Sprawling Studio with Space to Hold Multiple Sets and Shoots
A Green Room
A Makeup Room
And More
Beyond Better Production
This structure does more than just provide a better place to produce video. It strengthens Hillsdale’s deep library of online education courses that have been accessed by 3 million students.
“The center will also allow online learning and the visual arts team to have several sets available simultaneously, which means we can develop a more aggressive film schedule and produce more high-quality courses.”
Jeremiah Regan, Executive Director of Online Learning, Hillsdale College
We’re excited to see another amazing project go up successfully here on Hillsdale College’s beautiful campus. We can’t wait to see how the Sajak Media Center bolsters their high-quality education in the years to come!
Community members, school leadership, and project partners came together in early June to celebrate the official start of construction on the new Baseball/Softball Complex for Goshen High School. Set to be built on the campus of Prairie View Elementary, the new sports complex is a project that comes after more than 60 years spent playing on existing, outdated fields.
“We had a baseball field, it was in terrible shape, I hate to say, I think it’s probably one of the worst baseball fields in northern Indiana. But our softball field wasn’t any better and that was at the park, and we couldn’t play the games there.”
Jim DuBois, Superintendent, Goshen Community Schools
A Better Playing Experience
With conversations about finding a new home for the baseball and softball teams starting 20 years ago, planning for this new facility has been a long time in the making. Some fresh amenities that will come with the complex include:
Baseball Diamond
Softball Diamond
Field Lighting
Turf
Press Boxes
Parking
Team Dugouts
Concessions and Restroom Facility
And More
Turf on fields will allow rain during the Spring season to drain more efficiently, preventing fields from flooding. This reduces the number of postponed games. On top of that, new lighting fixtures will allow for better visibility in the dark, making support for night games possible.
Better Access for Everyone
Parking has been a known issue at the field where the baseball team plays, but that problem will be resolved after this project’s completion.
“This plan there’ll be parking right there next to the softball/baseball facility. If we do need overflow, the elementary school here will have extra parking spaces. It would be after school hours so there’ll be plenty of room to park at the elementary school.”
Jim DuBois, Superintendent, Goshen Community Schools
We’re excited for the opportunity to partner with Goshen Community Schools and provide the softball and baseball players with a brand-new space that meets their needs now and into the future. Families and spectators can expect to see teams in action at the sports complex by 2025!
Organizations, community partners, employees, donors, and residents from throughout the Fort Wayne community witnessed the grand opening of the brand-new Bridge of Grace facility. Introducing and expanding ministry services, this new construction is designed to house three specific functions of Bridge of Grace’s operations:
The Early Years Academy
Bridge of Grace Offices
The Alliance Health Clinic
Early Childhood Development
The Early Years Academy supports growth and development for local children between the infant and preschool ages. Covering much of the facility’s square footage, the preschool features:
Infant Rooms
Toddler Rooms
Preschooler Wing
Outdoor Play Areas
Indoor Play Space
Staff Lounge
Conference Space
Multipurpose Room
Kitchen
“We believe in natural wonder and fostering curiosity to provide a child centered learning experience. We believe children are precious and unique individuals.”
Early Years Academy, Westminster Preschool
A Brand New Office Space
The Bridge of Grace offices are set to equip employees for their everyday workloads with:
Conference Rooms
Cafe Area
Office Suites
Cubicle Layouts
And More
Professional Healthcare Services
The Alliance Health Clinic is a special healthcare center built to provide healthcare for those in the community regardless of financial challenges, complete with:
Therapist Office
Exam Rooms
Administrative Space
Lobby
Nurse Station
For a Greater Purpose
This project comes on the heels of many years of the ministry investing in Southeast Fort Wayne. Seeing an opportunity to revitalize and uplift an overlooked and underserved area of the city, Javier Mondragon Founder and CEO of Bridge of Grace Ministries, set out to serve and breathe life into a neighborhood whose people had been ignored and forgotten by many.
“Seventeen years ago, God decided to change this community, and what a privilege to be part of the change and the transformation that is happening here in the Mount Vernon Park [Neighborhood] and Southeast Fort Wayne.”
Javier Mondragon, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Bridge of Grace Ministries
We are honored to have joined forces with Bridge of Grace in this project that will directly impact lives through avenues like education, early childhood development, healthcare, and so much more. We’re excited to see how Bridge of Grace continues to pour into the community and change Southeast Fort Wayne for the better in the years to come!
