There is some truth to the notion that some brothers just love to build Kingdom Halls. I was forced to deal with some of them as an elder and they could be downright fanatical about it, even when there was no growth taking place. I called it an "edifice complex"
I had the same experience and reached the same conclusion. I even used "edifice complex" in describing the phenomenon to someone. I occupied a support position on the RBC for some years and the ranking committee members were all contractors or subcontractors, employed in the building trades. It was very clear that a "quick-build" project validated their career choices and confirmed their strong belief that in the new system the only really useful people would be those with building skills.
This is why so many of these guys go from project to project, devoting many weekends a year to this quick builds all over their region. It's a real power trip and it gets you out of the mundane weekend service-and-meeting whirlpool.
In our region, there was absolutely zero growth in the four English congos utilizing two Kingdom Halls, despite that fact we lived in a high growth California area where the population more than doubled in less than two decades. Despite this extraordinary growth, the number of active JWs was fairly static for the last 10 years. A lot of dubs moved in, but they were going out the back door at the same rate.
Nevertheless, the RBC scouted out a site and announced plans to build two new halls on adjacent lots. This would allow the English congos to bail out of the existing halls, which were both paid for and for which the monthly expenses totalled several hundred dollars... requiring a contribution from each congo of just a few hundred bucks a month.
In the end, even though many local dubs questioned the need for new buildings, the halls were erected and shared by the four congos -- each of which now contributes almost $1,500 a month to pay off the loan and operate the halls. The older buildings were gifted to several Spanish congos in the area, some of which were sharing an even older hall with two or three other congos.
End result? There are two additional KH's in the area serving the exact same number of congos as before, requiring a hell of a lot more in contributions. Also, there are now only two congos sharing each hall, so there's plenty of "room for growth." Except there isn't any growth, only the illusion that "Jehovah's organization is on the move!."
