Emmons Hall in Brody Complex Neighborhood is currently open and housing students after major renovations over the past year. Majority of the hall is upperclassmen because residents of Rather and Bailey halls were displaced this school year. Lauren Wood/The State News
Living in newly-renovated Emmons Hall was the first choice for sophomores Carlyn Kellner and Rebecca Taylor this year.
After enjoying dorm life as freshmen, they decided to request Emmons Hall to take advantage of the new features from the hall’s $13.8 million renovations, including redesigned lounges, study spaces and a community kitchen.
“We have the best dorms and the best food,” Taylor said.
Emmons Hall reopened this month after being closed for construction for the last academic year.
The hall now is home to a larger than average number of upperclassmen, said Vennie Gore, assistant vice president for Residential and Hospitality Services.
About 30 percent of the Emmons Hall 410 residents are freshmen, and the remaining 70 percent are upperclassmen, based on early numbers, a change from the hall’s typical
freshman majority, Gore said.
With the rest of the residence halls in Brody Complex Neighborhood slated for
similar renovations by 2014, he said he expects the neighborhood to draw more returning students instead of mostly freshmen.
“Residents like the openness and the public spaces, (such as) the lounges and community kitchens and the renovated restrooms,” he said in an email.
During the 2011-12 academic year, Rather and Bailey halls will be closed to undergo
renovations similar to Emmons, and Gore also expects them to draw a balance of upperclassmen and freshmen.
Bailey and Rather halls are scheduled to reopen in fall 2012, and the rest of the dorms in Brody Complex Neighborhood are scheduled to follow with similar renovations, said Emmons Hall Director L. Michelle Vital.
Armstrong and Bryan halls are slated for renovations to be completed in fall 2013, and Butterfield Hall will reopen in fall 2014 after undergoing the same process, she said.
“We are expecting more upperclassmen living in Emmons, Bailey and Rather (halls) with the renovation,” Gore said.
When residents moved in to Emmons earlier this week, Vital said students were impressed by the details and color scheme of the new hall.
A common phrase Vital heard students say was, “it looks like a hotel.”
The hall now features a new recycling center, music room, laundry and game rooms and a caucus room with a large conference table, according to the MSU Live On website.
The lounge on each floor also has a unique setup, Vital said.
Supply chain management sophomore Tom Collins moved into Emmons Hall this week with a group of friends he met while living in Bailey Hall last year.
Last year’s residents of Bailey and Rather halls were able to apply for housing earlier
than others as they were displaced because of the construction for the 2011-12 academic year.
Several of these students made Emmons Hall their first choice, Vital said.
Collins said he was impressed by how clean the hall was when he moved into his new room.
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His only complaint was that the men’s bathroom required a key instead of just the women’s.
“It’s just a hassle,” Collins said.
Some parents of residents also enjoyed the hall’s new look.
Janet Martin, a mother of a sophomore living in Emmons Hall, said move-in went smoothly this year compared to moving in her son to Bailey Hall the year before.
“They had more carts this year,” Martin said. “The elevators were better, too.”
