Residential Life Master Plan refurbishes facilities for the future

Image: Mid-Campus Housing, with the new connection between Graham and Defoe halls

The Mid-Campus Housing project replaced two obsolete residence halls with three new structures, renovated Graham and Defoe halls and built a new connection between the two older residence halls.

MU's Residential Life Master Plan, approved in 2001 by the university's Board of Curators to replace and/or renovate 19 residence halls over 17 years, remains on track. Three new residence hall complexes, with a total of eight new halls, are now operational: Virginia Avenue Housing, Southwest Campus Housing and College Avenue Housing. The Mid-Campus Housing complex, comprising three halls, will open this fall.

Hatch, McDavid and Schurz halls have been renovated and are operational. Renovation will soon begin on Hudson and Gillett, and design is under way for renovation of Mark Twain Hall.

The Mid-Campus Housing complex is unique among new residential hall construction as it incorporates Defoe and Graham halls in adaptive-reuse construction. The two buildings are being co-joined by a newly constructed link wherein both will function and feel like a single hall in the new complex. Baker-Park and Gardner-Hyde halls were razed in 2007 to make room for the Mid-Campus project.

Refurbishing these aged facilities ensures the financial viability of MU's residential life system, keeps MU competitive with peer institutions and promotes the continued success of "Res Life's" unique Living-Learning programs.