Artwork by
Dennis Murphy

For the students, by the students

Building on-campus housing at Mizzou for the future
Emily Melies, Corner Post Staff

May 3, 2004 - Throughout the past year, the daily lives of MU students have been altered by the construction projects on campus. Many of the projects are aimed toward Mizzou's on-campus residents. Some of the old residence halls are being torn down and replaced with new ones and, other halls are being remodeled to improve student comfort and satisfaction.

"Early stages of improvement to residential life began in back in 1997," Director of Residential Life, Frankie Minor said. "The entire process will take 15 to 20 years to complete."

In May 2001, the Department of Residential Life was given approval by the University of Missouri System Board of Curators to upgrade or replace all 19 residential halls. Many of the halls have not had major renovation since their time of construction, and the most recent hall was built in the 1960's.

"The new halls were constructed based on what students prefer and what works for them," Minor said.

The new halls will feature swing space and will not be built as high rises. They will not top four or five stories. This allows students to get a homier feel in their college environment.

Projects that are currently in progress include: Virginia Avenue housing and dining facility, major renovation of residential halls, College Avenue Bridge, Southwest Campus housing plan and College Avenue housing.

Residential halls scheduled for demolition are the following: Baker-Park, Gardner-Hyde, Donnelly, Blair, and Smith. The new halls will be their replacements.

Hatch, Schurz, Gillett, and Hudson will all undergo renovation. The renovation will include electrical work, new plumbing, installation of air conditioning, and more.

The new additions will add to the quality of campus, but not without a price. Students living in the new halls will see a noticeable increase in their residential life fees.

"I think the new halls will be a lot nicer than the old ones, but I don't know that they'll be worth the price," freshman Jill Nelson said. "Also the construction has been a bit of an inconvenience for me. I live in Schurz hall and the front door and drive have been closed since spring break. It's just been made available again this past week. "

The construction effecting Schurz hall was due to the ongoing work on the College Avenue Bridge.

The completion of all improvements will take a considerate amount of time, yet some stages of the work will be completed for the Fall 2004 semester. Virginia Avenue housing will be ready to house students and the College Avenue Bridge will be ready for use.

For the Residential Life Master Plan, visit http://reslife.missouri.edu/RLMP/index.html

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