It’s good news to hear that fundraising for Capitol Federal Hall is 94 percent complete.

Capitol Federal Hall will house Kansas University’s new School of Business on Naismith Drive. The new building is Kansas University’s most ambitious academic building project ever, and so far, fundraising for the project has gone exceedingly well. KU Endowment announced last week that all but $3.4 million of the $60.5 million goal has been raised. The total project cost is $70.5 million, with private funding paying for construction and KU contributing $10 million to prepare the site, provide utilities to the building and furnish it.

The 166,500-square-foot Capitol Federal Hall will be four stories high. The building will include a large center atrium for gathering and a 350-seat auditorium for classes and events. Work is progressing on the building and construction is expected to be complete next spring. Classes are to start in the new building in the fall of 2016.

To date, most of the fundraising has focused on larger corporate donors, including the lead gift for the building, $20 million from the Capitol Federal Foundation. A gift from Koch Industries is being developed, Endowment President Dale Seuferling said.

The endowment also plans to reach out to alumni for smaller donations to help complete the fundraising campaign, Seuferling said.

KU already ranks among the top public university business schools in the country. The school counts among its alumni business leaders throughout the country and those alumni recognize the need for KU to have a facility that lives up to the school’s reputation, Seuferling said. The school of business is currently housed in Summerfield Hall, which was built more than 50 years ago.

“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,” Seuferling said last week.

Thanks to the efforts of the endowment and its donors, that higher quality facility is less than a year away. That’s great news, not only for those associated with the business school, but also for everyone associated with Kansas University.