Three years ago Minnesota State University, Mankato students told administrators what today’s students want in a college residence hall: Privacy, convenience and “at-home” atmosphere.
That’s what 608 students will get later this month when they move into the new, suite-style Julia A. Sears Residence Hall on the west edge of campus.
Each “semi-suite” has two bedrooms with 10-foot ceilings and large windows offering sweeping views of either the campus mall or the wooded bluff over the Minnesota River Valley. Bedrooms have individually controlled air conditioning and heating, tile floors and sound-resistant walls, loftable beds, dressers and desks with lockable drawers, upholstered office chairs, closets, plentiful electrical outlets and dual Internet, telephone and cable TV jacks.
The two bedrooms are connected by a full, compartmentalized, private bathroom for use by the suite’s four residents.
For many of the student-residents, these and other features are no surprise. That’s because the students helped select furniture and finishes for the four-story, $25-million building when it was being designed.
Now, after two years of construction, the building is open. The first new residence hall in more than 40 years, Julia A. Sears becomes the fourth Minnesota State Mankato residence community, increasing on-campus residential capacity to 3,500 of the university’s 14,800 students.
“Sears Hall offers our students outstanding on-campus collegiate living conditions – in my opinion, the finest that I’ve ever seen,” President Richard Davenport said. “This is designed as a 50-year building that is adaptable to the needs of students well into the future, and it is a magnificent addition to our campus.”
The building is named for Julia A. Sears, who served as Mankato State Normal School principal in 1872 and 1873.
“Student feedback served as the basis for planning this new building, which offers a ‘step up’ from our basic and renovated spaces,” said Cindy Janney, director of Residential Life. “Students are excited about the upgrade in amenities, and they are sharing that excitement on Facebook.”
Wheeled, convertible desk chairs are among the student-selected features. Students can separate the chair top from the undercarriage, creating a TV/gaming chair that rests on the floor. The chair’s undercarriage becomes a rolling table.
Dressers and desks have expandable, pull-out work and storage surfaces – another feature requested by the students.
All floors are co-ed, and each semi-suite houses students of the same gender. Ninety percent of the suites house four residents (two per bedroom), and 10 percent house two (one person per bedroom). Entrances to each wing of the building require keycard access.
Each of the building’s 15 “communities” includes a roomy kitchen and a contemporary lounge area, and the building has seven laundry rooms (one washer and dryer for every 20 residents).
Terrazzo tile floors, Kasota-stone walls, wide hallways and open staircases punctuate the building’s public areas, where students can dine at a grill/deli, purchase sundries at a convenience store, use wireless Internet in common areas, and access the Residence Hall Association-endorsed Newspaper Readership Program, which includes The Free Press, Star Tribune and USA Today. Maple doors and cabinetry highlight hallways and rooms.
Columns of Low-E-coated, energy efficient glass provide plentiful natural light to the lobby, lounges, staircases and hallways.
A multi-purpose, first-floor community space can be partitioned for privacy with moveable, etched glass walls (featuring the signature Minnesota State Mankato flame).
The 150,275-square-foot building is handsomely faced with Kasota stone and red brick. Its gently curving entrance creates an elegant western panorama for students and guests walking on the nearby campus mall between Centennial Student Union and Memorial Library.
Surrounding the building are two acres of landscaped green spaces – outdoor study and conversation areas featuring lawns, trees, sidewalks and cobblestone patios.
Sears Hall is 100 percent occupied. Sixty percent of the residents are upperclassmen and women, and 40 percent are first-year students. But Residence Life Director Janney expects the hall to be occupied almost exclusively by upperclass students in a couple of years, because returning upperclass students have first opportunity to select a residence hall room for the following year.
The new building sets the standard for the Minnesota State Mankato housing system. Major renovations to one hall in the Crawford Residence Community were completed last year, and the makeover for two other halls within Crawford started this summer. The renovations include new plumbing fixtures, electrical and lighting upgrades, new heating units and controls, air conditioning, new ceiling, floor and wall finishes, and new cabinetry and furnishings. Renovations on two halls in the McElroy Residence Community are planned next year.
None of the building costs are funded by tuition or tax dollars. Revenue for renovations and new construction comes from revenue bonds, which are funded by student housing fees.
Construction innovations make the Sears building 30 percent more energy efficient than is required by the Minnesota energy building code – a green, “sustainable structure” by state guidelines.
It has additional insulation on the roof that provides a 25 R-rating. All rooms have energy efficient lighting that saves 25 percent over traditional lights. The Low-E windows reflect heat from the sun in summer and retain heat in winter. Low-flow shower heads conserve water and energy, and high-efficiency fan motors consume 20 percent less electricity.
General contractor was Knutson Construction of Minneapolis, and architects were Ayers Saint Gross Architects & Planners of Baltimore and Bentz/Thompson/Rietow Architecture of Minneapolis.
More information about the new Julia A. Sears Residence Hall is available at http://www.mnsu.edu/reslife/halls/juliasears.html.
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