Chow Time Campaign

Creating Space for All to Gather & Eat at
Shoshone Mountain Retreat

THE FUTURE

For almost a century before Lutherhaven began operating Shoshone Mountain Retreat in 1988, the dining hall at that historic camp was the central most essential building there, the place where friends gather at the beginning and end of each day to give thanks, share stories, and be fed in body and spirit.

That “chow time” legacy continues today, but now, Shoshone Mountain Retreat’s sleeping capacity does not match the camp’s dining capacity: we can sleep 140, but can only feed 100 indoors. We “make it work” by feeding everyone outside, an inadequate solution fraught with important concerns like safe food handling, inclement weather, bees, flies and mosquitoes, and guest comfort.

The Shoshone Dining Hall renovation is a capital project with direct programmatic ties. A functional space for preparing and enjoying good food fuels “campers” of all ages from early spring to late fall—Idaho Servant Adventures volunteers, summer campers, outdoor education groups, and retreat goers.

The dining hall project is foundational for Shoshone Mountain Retreat. After two decades operating the camp and extensive relationship-building with regional building and planning departments, it’s the first building we’ve been permitted by the state of Idaho for an extensive footprint increase, needed plumbing changes, and guest services improvements.

CHOW TIME KEY PLAN:

1. New restrooms & Storage 2. Dining hall addition w/ fireplace/meeting area 3. Seating for 130+ 4. Kitchen upgrades & more efficient service areas 5. Covered outdoor patio & stage area 6. New entry 7. Extended room over existing patio & ramp

CONSTRUCTION BUDGET

Since we purchased the camp from the U.S. Forest Service in 2009—an undertaking
requiring two acts of Congress—another major undertaking at Shoshone Mountain Retreat has been to “flip” it from utilitarian Forest Service work center to cozy Christian youth and family camp and retreat.

The Chow House project includes:

Doubling the footprint of the building so every camper, every week, can eat indoors.
New wastewater infrastructure for two primary camp buildings.
Adding public, accessible bathrooms where none currently exist.
Modernizing and improving the size, flow and functionality of the kitchen.
Turning the building into the central, signature gathering place on camp.

BUDGET
$284,000 Building
$47,500 Outdoor Spaces
$44,000 Kitchen Renovation + Equipment
$28,000 Furnishings
$25,000 Septic- Engineering, Installation
$30,000 10% Materials Contingency
$458,500 SUBTOTAL
+$130,000 FMV Staff & Volunteer Labor
$588,500 TOTAL PROJECT COST

Total square footage of remodel: 2,273 @ $125/sq ft
Total square footage of outdoor eating spaces/decks: 1550 @ $30/sq ft
Total square footage of kitchen: 1,100 sq ft @ $40/sq ft