Five years ago, a pedestrian bridge under construction for Florida International University catastrophically collapsed, killing six people, including an FIU student.
Dan Bell, a retired business leader in Miami, wonders how much a chapel on the public university’s campus in West Miami-Dade would’ve helped then.
“Can you imagine how beneficial having a large chapel available to the students and the staff and others to deal with their grief in a sacred setting would’ve been?” he said in an interview Tuesday.
That’s one of the reasons Bell and his wife, Trish Bell, renowned philanthropists in South Florida, donated about $14 million to build a nondenominational gathering place at FIU’s main campus, the Modesto Maidique Campus off Southwest Eighth Street near Sweetwater.
The entire project, including a necessary road realignment, will cost about $28 million to $30 million, said FIU spokeswoman Maydel Santana, who added, “We are actively fundraising for the rest of the funds to complete the chapel.”
FROM 2019: FIU gets $5 million donation for construction of campus interfaith chapel
Construction for the Trish and Dan Bell Chapel, a 17,000-square-foot facility with a capacity to seat 250 people, began this week; it’s expected to last about 18 months.
Miami-based architectural firm Gurrimatute designed the chapel, which will be painted white and include large windows and a tower with four golden bells.
Moss & Associates, a Fort Lauderdale-based firm, will take care of construction. Its executive, Chad Moss, donated $10 million to FIU’s engineering school in 2017, still the largest donation by an alumnus, to create the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability.
The chapel will be located in front of the lake by the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential House, where university presidents live and entertain.
“Now you have to use a little bit of imagination because you can’t see the lake from here … but believe me when you get to see the design in the brochure you are going to say, ‘This is the most outstanding site that we have in Miami-Dade County.’ It is just beautiful for reflection and serenity,” FIU President Kenneth Jessell told a crowd of about 200 at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.
The event’s guests included former FIU President Mark Rosenberg, former Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padron, top university donors, members of the FIU Board of Trustees and representatives of four faiths: Senior Pastor Heather Collver, of First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables; Father Luis Pavon, of St. Agatha Catholic Church; Rabbi Berel Garelik, director of the Chabad at FIU; and Imam Kamruz Hosein, from Muslims at FIU.
About 20 of them grabbed golden shovels and piled dirt — the traditional turning of the first sod.
What a chapel could add to FIU
The Bells first heard about the chapel about four years ago from FIU senior officials who pitched that idea among other ones.
“Our hearts skipped a beat, and simultaneously we both nudged each other under the table,” Dan Bell said in recalling that moment at the Wednesday ceremony. “And we did that because we both knew immediately, without having to consult one another as we always do with these projects — we both knew immediately, without any doubt in our hearts and minds, that this is what we were going to do.”
Dan Bell co-founded Kos Pharmaceuticals in Miami and built it as a start-up with three employees to a nationally known company. Abbott Labs bought in a $3.7 billion transaction in December 2006.
The core of the Bells’ philanthropy has been rooted in their faith, he said, so a chapel seemed like the perfect fit. The Bells are fellows of the FIU Foundation and have been big supporters of the cultural arts and the Chapman Partnership.
FROM 2017: Chad Moss gives record donation to FIU’s engineering school
Catherine Espaillat, a nutrition and dietetics junior at FIU and the president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a club on campus, said she’s looking forward to visiting the chapel.
“It’s going to mean so much to have a space to step away from all of the chaos,” she said. “It’s such a big campus that sometimes it’s hard to find peace and quiet.”
Trish Bell said in a Tuesday interview she and her husband believe part of a well-rounded education includes a spiritual component, and a chapel will enable FIU to provide that for its students.
“No matter how well-educated you are, we feel that when you go through life, you face challenges. All of these students who graduate with degrees will be great in their careers but they will face challenges, and if they don’t have a spiritual core or base to draw from when they’re making ethical and other decisions, then they’re not 100% educated,” she said.
She envisions community members holding funerals, weddings, baptisms, Eid al-Fitr, Passover and other religious events there. On Wednesday, Jessell said he’s already scheduling his 50th wedding anniversary in the chapel.
The Bells are Methodists, but they decided to support a nondenominational chapel because they hope it will attract believers of all faiths.
“The better you get to know people of different opinions, cultures and backgrounds, and understand them, the better you can live together and be more productive as a society. Even though you might not agree, you learn to understand everybody’s differences and respect them,” Trish Bell said. “And that’s what we hope this chapel at FIU will do.”
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