“We want to make the Union into a vibrant place for students,” Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Vennie Gore said. “Ultimately, we want to build a better community for students.”

The current building was constructed in 1925, and Gore said, “It is time to update it to accommodate current students’ needs.”

The Union already has seen many changes, with the main floor and food court area being renovated last year and reopened in January. The second phase of the renovations began this spring and will continue into the summer.

“It will be new and inviting to the students, but (it) will remain historically accurate,” Operations Manager Doug Murdoch said.

The MSU Board of Trustees approved a $13 million budget for the Union’s renovations in December 2012, which aim to bring students back to campus and to make the building more student-oriented.

“There will be more study space and more services for students on and off campus,” said Cathy Fitzpatrick, interim manager of the University Activities Board, or UAB.

This summer, the lower levels and second floor will be renovated, with the finishing touches being put on in the fall. Everything is on schedule and within budget, Murdoch said.

The parlor rooms on the second floor will be changed into a multicultural center and the North Campus Engagement Center will replace the Green and Gold rooms; however, the ballrooms will remain for meetings and conferences.

The engagement center will have all the same elements of other engagement centers across campus, with the exception of a health care clinic, Gore said.

The billiards area, barber shops and computer lab will be removed, and in their place will be men’s, women’s and family restrooms, classrooms, open computer kiosks and a Room for Engaged and Active Learning, or REAL.

McDonel Hall already has two REAL classrooms, which “are specifically designed to enable lively interaction, enhanced learning and increased faculty and student engagement,” according to MSU’s Information Technology website.

The site of the Heritage Café will be converted into a programming area for the UAB and also will have a resource center where students can print materials such as fliers and banners, as well as a media center where students can check out video equipment. The resource and media centers will be open to all students and RSOs, Fitzpatrick said.

Additional space for study rooms and computers will be placed throughout the second and lower levels to compensate for the removal of the computer lab. There will be rooms that will be available for tutoring or to be checked out by RSOs and other students, Fitzpatrick said.

With the new renovations, the Union “will be a place for RSOs to get together and meet where resources will be available to them,” Gore said.

With the exception of the REAL classroom, the Union will be fully functional in the fall when students return. The REAL classroom will need time to have the system set up and ready for spring, Murdoch said.

“The Union will be more student-focused, more of a student hub or center,” Fitzpatrick said. “It will be a spot all students need to check out when they come back in the fall.”