When most students — new and returning — are welcomed to campus Aug. 29 and 30, they might notice two large-scale redevelopments at Brody and Hubbard halls.

Psychology junior and Hubbard Hall mentor Andrew Jessmore said upon moving in, students should be prepared for differences while living in the residence hall. That’s because after months of construction and millions of dollars, the dormitory has been updated and renovated.

“The renovations are amazing here — you don’t even know that it’s Hubbard anymore when you step inside,” Jessmore said. “From what we have seen during the past couple of days, the (mentor) staff is young and excited and there is a completely different feel.”

And toward the northwest, students will see Brody Hall display a new façade, including the new cafeteria called Brody Square.

“The building itself will be open 24 hours a day and what we think will be state of the art,” said Vennie Gore, the assistant vice president of Residential and Hospitality Services.

When renovations are complete, Gore said the final products will attempt to showcase everything green and white.

“We wanted to make sure it was uniquely MSU,” Gore said. “As we begin to redefine that, we are really trying to see what the 21st century student wants in a (university) environment.”

Latest and greatest

The introduction of Brody Square and redevelopment at Hubbard Hall are key to MSU’s latest endeavor, the Spartan Neighborhood Concept pilot program, modeled after the First Year Experience, or FYE, program that was test run at Holden Hall during the 2009-10 year.

In September 2009, the FYE pilot program began with an attempt to provide incoming freshmen with a smoother transition from high school to college with in-hall resources and tutoring.

“When we started, the goal was, in part, to acclimate students (and) to give them a better sense of what they wanted to accomplish (at MSU),” said Tony Frewen, director of marketing communications for Residential and Hospitality Services, or RHS. “Our hope (with) the Neighborhood concept is (that it is) a new way to deliver student services.”

Although FYE no longer will be a standalone program, segments of the program will be incorporated into the Neighborhood Concept, said Joshua Gillespie, assistant director of the Department of Residence Life for the FYE pilot program, in an e-mail.

For example, Hubbard Hall features a new engagement center in the middle of the building where students and tutors can reserve a number of new study lounges, reminiscent of FYE. In addition, a large Sparty’s Convenience Store was added to the building, providing a community feel for the residential hall, Gore said.

Philip Strong, assistant dean for Lyman Briggs College, recently was named leader of the Neighborhood Concept pilot project in Hubbard Hall for the 2010-11 school year.

“My role is to bring all of these parties together,” Strong said. “(We are) trying to take a new lens, and instead of saying, ‘This is the way that we have always supported students and we won’t change,’ we are saying, ‘What are some of the ways we can support students?’”

Instead of having students trek across campus for a checkup at Olin Health Center, Strong said students would be able to stay within their hall and receive the same care and service. Hall services will be optional, allowing students the continued opportunity to go to other locations on campus to receive a service, Strong said.

Engagement centers are expected to be implemented in all neighborhoods by August 2012, with the next being in the Brody, South and Red Cedar Neighborhoods, Gore said.

At Brody Square, people can expect nine restaurant-inspired stations and numerous seating arraignments when it opens to early move-ins Thursday, Gore said. In fall 2011, the building’s first floor will be home to a Hubbard Hall-like engagement center, serving about 2,500 students within the complex.

“There’s an awful lot of excitement,” Frewen said. “(It) started back with The Gallery (in Snyder and Phillips Halls). Students are willing to travel when you give them something exciting and of good quality.”

Turbulent times

When Brody Hall construction officially ends next year and Hubbard Hall opens to residents in a matter of weeks, Frewen said he expects both projects to complete at or below cost.

Reconstruction of Brody Hall, which began in spring 2009, remains on track at an estimated $49 million, with funds in the form of bonded debt, Frewen said. Although the building’s aesthetics will be apparent, Gore said about 80 percent of the building’s reconstruction are behind walls.

At Hubbard Hall, the budget is an estimated $4 million, with funding provided mostly by the MSU general fund, the Office of the Provost and RHS, Frewen said. Much of the renovations were made not only in the engagement center, but the dining area and hall corridors.

Frewen did not have an estimated cost for implementing the Neighborhood Concept, other than saying any number would be speculation on his part, he said.

“We have to consider ourselves (in a) competition — marketing and branding were not words that you heard in university boardrooms,” Frewen said. “We need to be competitive locally, nationally and globally. We need to be a place that, yes, the programs are in place and students want to come here and get a degree, (but) also be a place where students want to live.”

A first impression

As students across campus made the trek to The Gallery when it opened in 2007, many are expected to walk and see what’s new at MSU this fall, Frewen said.

Incoming kinesiology freshman Eric Schultz said he is excited hang out with friends in Hubbard Hall’s new game lounges, making the transition to a large university much smoother.

“I heard at orientation they would have about 1,000 freshmen in Hubbard Hall, so I think it would be awesome to have that many people living there my age,” Schultz said. “A lot of freshmen can utilize and become more socially involved.”

At least having the opportunity to use the hall’s new services is appealing, incoming accounting freshman Daniel Olsen said.

“It will make it more exciting to live on campus in Hubbard than just the regular dorms you see every day,” Olsen said.

The sheer size of MSU’s campus can be a daunting sight for incoming students, Frewen said. But with recent changes, MSU officials hope to make students feel more at home and attract more students to the university.

“‘I’m afraid to go there, it’s too big,’ (some would say),” Frewen said.

“What we hope to do is take this big, giant place that has (about) 47,000 students (and) make it feel like a place where (you are) comfortable; this is (your) neighborhood within this big giant city.”