After being under construction for three years, McDonald Hall has been fully re-opened.
The renovations cost approximately $10.5 million with $9.3 million approved by the Board of Trustee’s and $1.2 million invested by Residence Life, said Sarah Waters, director of Residence Life.
The renovations to McDonald began when the University began to build the Oaks dining hall.
“Starting three or four years ago we took off part of the west wing, and the next summer we took off part of the east wing,” Waters said.
One major thing that was changed was that instead of there being a front desk in each wing there is now one that has been moved to North College to give “one primary strong entrance to the building,” Waters said.
“We have had just one front desk in North for the past five years,” Waters said. “Some of the flow in and out of the building didn’t make much sense.”
Austin Flores, a McDonald resident, said the building has a much better feel to it than it used to have.
“When you walk in the front doors you feel like you’re walking to a high-class building,” he said. “It’s so much more welcoming.”
The residence hall still does not have air conditioning, but it has other new features.
Waters said they tore out the old non-moveable furniture and added in new moveable furniture.
Air conditioning was not added because of the additional $3 million it would have cost, Waters said.
“The majority of the school year air conditioning isn’t necessarily vital to students,” she said.
Steve Krakoff, vice president of Capital Planning, said in order to keep McDonald a more affordable option, it was better for them to renovate the hall instead of demolishing and rebuilding.
“If you tore down McDonald and rebuilt it, what we would rebuild would be state of the art like Centennial or Falcon Heights,” he said.
Research was done to see if other schools still offer low cost residence halls without air conditioning, Krakoff said, and “it is still an accepted practice.”
The entrance to the building also now offers a two-story lobby with a social lounge, and a new kitchen.
The safety in the residence hall has also been upgraded, Waters said.
“We upgraded the PED system in the building, and we have cameras at all of the entrances,” she said.
