MACON, Ga. — Construction crews began working on the 73,000 square foot residential hall that project leaders say should be finished by summer of 2020.
Senior Jason Vadell wishes Middle Georgia State had dorms back when he was a freshman.
"I feel like it's going to change the atmosphere of the campus, hands down. When you leave your room, you're stepping into a hallway full of hundreds of different students, so it's going to bring that more interactive environment, which is what the Macon campus is missing, and it's just going to change that atmosphere, it's going to bring a lot more fun," he said.
Vice President of Student Affairs Jennifer Brannon says students have the option of living at University Pointe, which is apartment-style housing that the University System of Georgia bought nine years ago.
"Our residence hall here on the Macon campus has always been full, so we've always had upwards of 90 people on the waiting list, so we know there's capacity for it, and we know that there's students that live within commuting distance that would like to live on campus if there was space for it," Brannon said.
The $18.5 million project will be the first residence hall built on campus.
Brannon says it's been in the plans since 2011 and believes it will attract more students.
"We have lots of students who want to come here and want to come to Middle Georgia State University, and now we're able to provide students from outside our region because there's a place to live," she said.
"Students are going to want to get out of their parents' house, so if you don't offer it here, they're going to go somewhere else, so I think it'll help with our retention rate and it'll just help with the environment and everything will go smoothly," Vadell said.
Freshman and sophomores will live in the new residence hall, while school leaders plan to use University Pointe for upperclassman housing.
Lakeview Pointe is located near the Columbus Road entrance and will overlook the campus lake.
Each unit will have two bedrooms with a shared bathroom.