Camp Cho-Yeh expands its mission with two new landmark facilities
In the heart of the East Texas pines, Camp Cho-Yeh has taken a significant step in expanding its mission with the completion of two new facilities designed and built by Houston-based, design-build firm KDW. The new 10,230-square-foot Meeting Hall and 19,740-square-foot Dining Hall mark a major investment in long-term infrastructure that will allow the camp to serve more guests, with a focus on older campers, retreat groups, and church events, with greater comfort and functionality.
Designed to blend seamlessly into the heavily wooded landscape, the new buildings represent a modern addition to the rustic structures that have served Camp Cho-Yeh for decades. The additions provide dedicated space for older campers to gather, dine, and deepen their community experience without displacing the younger campers for whom the camp was originally built.
“This was about creating something distinct, something that could serve a different demographic while preserving everything that’s special about Cho-Yeh’s original footprint,” says Landon Wemken, Project Manager at KDW. “The Board of Directors had a strong vision for how this part of the camp should function, and it was our job to help make that a reality.”
A Vision Rooted In Function and Faith
The new Meeting Hall and Dining Hall are central to a broader expansion of the camp’s facilities that includes a resort-style pool, pickleball courts, a go-kart track, and areas for archery and shooting sports. These amenities form the heart of a new wing of the camp, designed to give retreat guests and high school-age campers a more elevated experience. While the original camp remains fully operational, this expansion creates new opportunities to host retreats and events year-round, without interrupting the rhythms of summer programming.
Camp Cho-Yeh’s leadership saw the need to diversify its spaces to better serve a wider range of age groups and event types. Traditionally known for programs aimed at youth and young adults, the camp has increasingly attracted interest from churches, adult retreat groups, and leadership-development programs. These new buildings offer a tailored environment for those groups, while the original cabins, dining spaces, and gathering areas continue to host younger campers in a more traditional summer-camp setting.
Constructing With Care: Preserving Nature While Meeting The Mission
KDW began the design process in late 2023, with the groundbreaking in September 2024. Built in a densely forested property—true to its name, “Cho-Yeh” refers to the piney woods—the project required careful coordination to preserve the natural landscape.
“We didn’t take down a single tree for this build,” Wemken says. “The owners had created small clearings years ago with this kind of expansion in mind, and we worked within those footprints to minimize impact to the site, even through an extremely rainy season and tough site-access conditions.”
The site's remote and wooded nature posed considerable logistical challenges. Unpaved access roads became nearly impassable during stretches of heavy rain, and special precautions had to be taken to avoid damaging the natural environment. KDW coordinated closely with the Cho-Yeh team and site contractors to keep construction moving while protecting the landscape.
The Dining Hall presented several architectural and mechanical design challenges, particularly in integrating commercial-kitchen equipment into a cruciform-shaped building with steep, pitched rooflines. To address this, KDW adapted the rear portion of the structure with a low-slope TPO roof, allowing for efficient placement and maintenance of rooftop HVAC and kitchen systems without compromising the building’s visual character or structural integrity.
Adding to the complexity was a nationwide refrigerant transition in the mechanical-systems industry, which affected the availability of heating and cooling equipment across the country. KDW worked closely with its design/engineering consultants and mechanical partners to source equipment that met the project specifications, stayed within budget, and remained on schedule.
Despite these challenges, KDW designed and built the project within the agreed-upon timeframe to achieve Cho-Yeh's goal of opening the facilities for the Summer 2025 season.
Design Details That Matter
Inside, the two new buildings are a blend of form and function. Large, open spaces are framed with exposed structure and finished with stained plywood, creating a warm, rustic atmosphere that feels at home in the East Texas woods. The Meeting Hall is equipped to support group gatherings, worship services, and teaching sessions, while the Dining Hall dramatically expands the camp’s capacity for food service.
KDW’s approach balanced aesthetics and utility with the camp’s values in mind. While the finishes are clean and modern, they also reflect the camp’s character and emphasize durability. This is an essential feature for facilities that will serve hundreds of guests week after week.
A Long-Term Investment In Hospitality
“We’ve been thrilled with how these new facilities have turned out,” says Guy Bratton, Sr. Vice President of Operations at Camp Cho-Yeh. “Seeing the kids enjoying the space this summer has been really special. We were right there alongside the KDW team toward the end, training our staff, unpacking, helping get the finishing touches in place. These buildings offer us so much more room to grow, especially in the kitchen and dining hall. We’re excited for what this will mean for our future.”
The kitchen, in particular, represents a leap forward in capacity and capability. The original dining facilities were functional but limited in size and scalability. The new kitchen layout, built to modern commercial standards, allows the Cho-Yeh staff to prepare and serve meals more efficiently and to much larger groups. This enhancement is especially important during the offseason, when the camp hosts large retreat groups, leadership-development programs, and church gatherings.
The expanded capabilities also position Cho-Yeh for greater flexibility and resilience in its programming, giving the camp the option to grow in new directions and serve its guests with greater hospitality and care.
Built To Serve
The Camp Cho-Yeh project is the latest in a series of camp-focused developments delivered by KDW. In 2021, the firm completed a full redevelopment of the Sam Houston Area Council’s Camp Strake, building 66 new structures and delivering significant infrastructure improvements across the 2,800-acre Scout Camp. KDW also led the expansion of Pine Cove Christian Camp in Columbus, Texas, adding more than 41,000 square feet of new buildings to serve high school-aged campers in a dedicated setting.
“These projects reflect KDW’s growing reputation in the outdoor education and retreat sector,” says Rolf Scheffler, COO of KDW. “Our team’s ability to navigate sensitive natural environments, meet demanding schedules, and deliver purpose-built facilities that align with each client’s mission has made us a trusted partner for camps and recreational organizations across the region.”
Most recently, KDW was awarded a new project for T Bar M Camps & Retreats in New Braunfels, anticipated to begin in October 2025, further expanding the firm’s portfolio of purpose-built facilities for camp-focused organizations.
For KDW, these aren’t only construction projects; they’re opportunities to build places that foster growth, connection, and transformation.
“Since we turned the buildings over, I’ve been back to see them in use,” says Wemken. “Watching kids and young adults come together in these spaces, to have fun, to grow, and to explore their faith; it’s a reminder of why we do this work. It’s about more than just the buildings. It’s about the impact they make.”
That mindset, of building with purpose, was visible from start to finish on the Cho-Yeh project. From preserving the natural surroundings to designing with intentionality, the partnership between KDW and Camp Cho-Yeh brought a shared vision to life: one where facilities are both functional and foundational to the life-changing experiences they support.
About KDW
KDW is a full-service, design-build firm specializing in customized industrial and commercial construction. With a team of more than 100 construction experts, including in-house designers, architects, and multidisciplinary building professionals, the company is a single-source, one-contract solution for global and domestic companies, designing and building facilities that meet complex client specifications, often in niche industries such as cold storage, clean technology, food manufacturing, and oil and gas.
KDW traces its roots to 1895 when the Kingham family founded the J.E. Kingham construction company in East Texas. In 2004, partners J.E. Kingham, Keith Dalton, and Welcome Wilson Jr. officially launched KDW in Houston. Today, the company serves the fast-growing industrial and commercial markets from offices in Houston, Nacogdoches, and Austin, and has completed more than 2,000 projects across Texas. For more information, visit kdw.com.