Mallory McMillin
News Reporter

Kent Marsh, Mesa State‘s director of facilities said, the construction on Houston Hall and the new residence hall on Bunting Avenue are expected to be completed on June 30, 2011. The construction on Houston Hall started July 13, and the construction on the new hall began six days later.
Though construction on campus can be a nuisance, students seem understanding and appreciative of the work projects at Mesa State. Junior psychology major Sean Miller, 21, said, “We need construction to better the school and for the amount of students that are coming here, it is necessary for the improvement of Mesa State.”
By the time both buildings are finished, the total cost is expected to be $28.3 million, $14.1 million on the residence hall, and $14.2 million on Houston.
The new residence hall will have between 260 and 328 beds.
“The design of the new building allows for a mixture of single and double occupancy rooms and allows MSC to adjust the ratio to meet demand and to respond to the needs of MSC students,” Marsh said. “For instance, we may find that students don’t mind sharing a room if they pay less than having a room all to themselves. Thus, the reason for the minimum and maximum numbers of beds.”
The hall was designed in a way that will allow Mesa State to add another wing to the building in the future as the demand for residence halls increase. The plan was originally to build an entirely new hall but Mesa State does not yet own the property needed to do so. They designed the hall in a way that will allow them to add to it in the event they do not own the property necessary when the time comes that more dorms are needed.
Marsh said that the new dormitories are, “demand driven. If the college keeps growing like it has been we will need more rooms for students.”
Houston Hall is being gutted and the inside of the building will be entirely renovated. The outside of the building will remain the same with a few changes. An extra 12,500 feet will be added to the south west side of Houston, which will provide two 100-plus seat lecture halls. The existing lecture halls will be reconfigured to give better seating and a clearer view of the board to students. There will also be an addition to the front of the building, which Marsh said, “will provide a large study/lounge area, lobby, one group room, and a location for our campus food service provider.”
The second floor of Houston will have a large study room, two more group rooms, lecture halls and small classrooms, computer labs, and an outdoor terrace. The entire building will have new bathrooms and offices, and the first floor will accommodate tutoring and testing centers.
“The College Center is done but that doesn’t measn construction is,” said Dana Nunn, director of media relations at MSC. “It’s just not as bad as construction in the center of campus.”
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mmmcmill@mesastate.edu