Pictured in June 2015, Capitol Federal Hall, the new KU School of Business building, is going up on Naismith Drive across from Allen Fieldhouse. Construction is slated for completion in spring 2016, and the 166,500-square-foot building will open for classes by fall. The total project cost is 0.5 million, with the 0.5 million construction cost coming from private funds.

Fundraising is all but complete for Kansas University’s most expensive privately funded academic building to date, according to KU Endowment.

KU Endowment’s fundraising goal for Capitol Federal Hall, the new School of Business building on Naismith Drive, is $60.5 million, and the campaign has $3.4 million left to raise, Endowment President Dale Seuferling said this month.

The total project cost is $70.5 million, with donations funding construction and KU funding $10 million for site preparation, utilities and furnishings, Seuferling said.

To what does he attribute the fundraising success?

“The KU School of Business has a proud tradition and has quality graduates who have gone on to have great successes in the business world and our society,” Seuferling said. “You really have a quality program that has outgrown the size of the facility and needs a higher-quality facility with up-to-date technology.”

KU Endowment announced the lead gift for the building — $20 million from the Capitol Federal Foundation — in October 2012, Seuferling said.

Fundraising continues, and Endowment representatives have proposals in front of several individuals, foundations and companies, he said.

One gift being “developed” is from Koch Industries, namesake of the Koch Commons area inside Summerfield Hall, the 1960 building that currently houses the KU School of Business, Seuferling said. He said Endowment would make an announcement when a gift is finalized.

As Endowment closes in on its fundraising goal, it will ll begin reaching out to alumni for smaller donations as well, Seuferling said.

Seuferling said it’s normal for fundraising to continue even after a building is complete, and that sometimes seeing the finished project helps generate excitement.

Construction workers and cranes have been busy at the site this summer, and the building is taking shape.

Groundbreaking was in late 2013, and construction is scheduled for completion in April. Classes will begin there in fall 2016, or possibly the preceding summer.

The 166,500-square-foot Capitol Federal Hall is four stories high and features a large center atrium for gathering and a 350-seat auditorium for classes and events, said Kelly Watson Muther, School of Business Chief of Staff.

The project scope was smaller when first announced, but KU decided to build a section now that was initially planned as a future expansion.