River campus construction continues

~Installing windows is the next step in the building process

The ninth residence hall at Southeast Missouri State University and the first residence hall at the River Campus is on schedule to be finished by Aug. 1.

Kim Fees, assistant director of faculty operations, said that the construction will be "substantially complete" by June, and that workers will have all of July to install furniture and finish any interior work.

Construction work is currently focused on finishing the exterior bricking of the building. The front half is already bricked with the back side of the building still needing work.

All interior plumbing and electrical work is finished, with 80 percent of the student rooms already dry-walled. According to Fees, the next step will be to install the windows in a few weeks.

The building, which will house 184 students in 92 rooms, will include unique elements unlike any other residence hall on campus.

First is the actual student rooms, which are set up in an apartment style, according to Fees. The room is similar to suite-style rooms in Merick Hall and LaFerla Hall, with two student rooms together with a connected bathroom, but the River Campus rooms will have additional living spaces.

Included will be a kitchenette with an additional sink, cabinetry, microwave and refrigerator. Each suite will also have an additional communal space with an included couch, chair, end table, coffee table and 32-inch TV.

The new building will also include academic spaces, including a dance studio, a choral room, an art studio, a directing classroom, six practice rooms and three sectional rooms.

The hall will have a dining facility, which Fees explained will be different than any dining facility on the main campus.

"For breakfast, it is going to be a continental breakfast," Fees said. "For lunch, it will be a retail operation like the UC or Olives. For dinner, it will be board operation like Towers or brunch at the UC."

Fees added that the dining area could also double as a place for students to meet and study, even after the diner closes.

"The building itself is three stories," Fees said. "Of those three stories, the first floor is academic space, dining space, and the front desk area. The second floor is offices and student rooms, and the third floor is all student rooms."

On both the second and third floor, there are practice rooms, a study room, at least one student lounge with a full kitchen, five washers and five dryers.

Additionally, on the second floor there will be a fitness room with two treadmills, two elliptical machines, a Krankcycle, upright bike, recumbent bike, dumbbells and calisthenics equipment.

Fees added that the fitness room would be available to all Southeast students.

Just outside of the building will be a brick statue and storm water detention areas that will double as water features.

Taylor Asberry is a junior at Southeast majoring in musical theater and plans to live at the River Campus Residence Hall next year.

"Just being so close together would make it easier for students to not be worrying about catching a shuttle or getting a ride or anything," Asberry said. "They would just be right there in walking distance."

Asberry said that the shuttle system is not always reliable, citing the shuttle tracker app as not always accurate and shuttles that take time to change drivers.

"Certain shuttles like to wait at the River Campus for an extended period of time and some people just want to get home, especially after a long rehearsal," Asberry said. "They don't want to sit there for five to 10 minutes just waiting for stragglers to get on."

Asberry said another reason she wanted to live there was the addition of so many usable areas for students including more workspaces and much-needed food.

"On the weekends they are having a community meal where people from the floors can get together, and it's kind of like a lunch-room setting," Asberry said. "I'm really excited about that because I feel like it will be a really good experience for people to be more social."

Asberry mentioned that she thinks more River Campus students will stay on-campus instead of getting apartments because of the new hall.

"I'm really excited to start living there next year," Asberry said. "I can't wait. I feel like it's a more welcome environment, and I'm really happy for what they have planned."