Mayo Hall receives much-needed update, re-opens

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MSU’s oldest residence hall has been given a face-lift and is now open to students for the first time in more than a year.

Mayo Hall, which was built in 1931, shut its doors in May 2008 to undergo a substantial remodeling and safety upgrade. Now, 16 months later, the dormitory is welcoming its first group residents since the project was completed.

“I was looking at some of the other West Circle dorms and this place is like a hotel,” said Ethan Rubin, a new resident and no-preference sophomore. “It’s all so new and fresh and clean and good. It doesn’t have that smell that other West Circle dorms have.”

The renovation finished on schedule and under budget, with construction finishing about $200,000 under its original $12.7 million target, MSU interior designer Christine Lockwood said.

Visitors will notice a litany of improvements around the hall, which include air conditioning in every room, better lit hallways, new furniture, a new elevator, laundry rooms on each floor and amenities such as space heaters and lockers in the community bathrooms.

In recent years, the 78-year-old dormitory started showing signs of its age and required numerous safety upgrades, said Donyelle Hayhoe, the West Circle guest services manager.

Along with a complete replacement of the plumbing system, the dorm overhauled its mechanical, electrical and ventilation systems. Walkways are more handicap accessible, emergency phones were installed throughout the building, smoke detectors were replaced and the roof underwent considerable repair.

Safety was the primary reason for making the renovation, Hayhoe said.

“The plumbing was shot,” she said. “We couldn’t even get replacement parts for windows the cranks were so old.”

The upgrades came as part of a school-wide project to improve necessary residence halls around campus. Mayo, Owen and Holden halls all recently completed construction from summer projects and Brody Complex continues to upgrade facilities.

Although dorms such as Holden Hall tried to utilize a more modern look, Lockwood said Mayo’s modernization didn’t come at the cost of the building’s traditional look.

“We wanted to take it back more toward its original feeling of when it was built,” said Lockwood, who designed the dormitory’s new interior.

Mayo Hall will hold a grand reopening ceremony from 2-4 p.m. Sept. 17.

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