The landscape of Bluffton University is changing as you read this article. With the groundbreaking earlier this month of a new health and fitness center, work is now underway.

The former Bluffton University softball field below Marbeck Center is now a dirt track for heavy vehicles. Dirt is being brought to the site to lift it above the Riley Creek flood plain.

The 60,000-square-foot complex, to be located north of Marbeck Center on campus, will house space for the academic department of health, fitness and sport science; a weight and fitness center for all students; a new arena for intercollegiate basketball and volleyball; a sports medicine center; athletics offices; and practice, intramural and multipurpose facilities.
Expected to open by late 2012, the building will also be the first on campus to be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system.

The photo was taken from the tree lawn along Riley Creek. The construction site is on the former hill and softball field.

The video accompanying this story was filmed on July 28, 2011.