Students will no longer have to look to the north side of campus for deluxe student housing upon completion of a south side residence hall expected to open for the fall 2010 semester.
The new four-story residence will be called South Hall until Mississippi State University administrators approve an official name.
Like its predecessors found in Zacharias Village, South Hall will feature double occupancy rooms with private bathrooms and be fully furnished.
Ann Bailey, director of MSU Housing and Residence Life, said the time had come to offer students a variety of housing options throughout the university.
“We wanted to give students options on price ranges. For example, when this residence hall is complete, you will be able to apply for a retro hall like Rice Hall, a premium hall like Cresswell and now a deluxe hall with South Hall,” Bailey said. “Until now, students who wanted to be in a deluxe hall only had the option of being on the north side of campus.”
Found between Rice and McComas halls, South Hall will be built in an “L” shape and encompass nearly 125,000 square feet with 350 beds. The new hall will feature study rooms, learning spaces and possibly include communities of students with similar majors.
Tim Muzzi, associate director of architectural planning and construction, said the building’s proximity to other halls will create a cozy environment.
“One of the reasons we selected this area to build was because it would create a court-like area for Cresswell, Hawthorne and the new hall,” Muzzi said. “It also would give a new housing facility to the south side of campus which has only had remodeled buildings as of late, nothing new.”
Although the closeness of buildings could create more of a residential community, MSU students are more focused on the hall’s impact on parking. The residence will be adjacent to the Commuter East and South zones, locations already filled to capacity when classes are in session.
Mike Harris, director of parking operations, said plans have already been made to offset the additional inhabitants on the south side.
“What is going to happen is we’re going to add an additional 125 spots behind Cresswell by the tennis courts,” Harris said. “Then, we’re going to take the Commuter East lot which is closest to the new hall and make that South Zone as well; this will off-set the number of new residents.”
Harris said the university is now planning to keep the gravel lot next to the band hall for Commuter East drivers. Originally, the lot was meant to be a temporary solution to make up for the parking places displaced from South Hall construction.
Harris also said 43 more Commuter East spots will be made behind the IED building and the overall loss of Commuter East places will stand at about 50.
With MSU President Mark Keenum wanting to increase enrollment to 22,000 students, Harris said to expect more construction on campus for the next two to five years.
“We are beyond the talking stages of a 1,250-space parking garage behind the YMCA building, and I think it will be up no later than 2012,” Harris said. “I really think this is going to happen soon, and it will house students, faculty and visitors to campus.”
Bailey echoed Harris’ sentiment and said more residence halls are most likely going to be constructed in the short-term future.
“We currently have about 4,000 beds on campus, and if we are to keep pace with the goals set by our university leaders, then that number will have to be around 5,000 beds by 2015,” she said.