STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State University (MSU) has reached a significant milestone with the topping out of Azalea Hall, the university's new five-story, multipurpose building. This achievement marks the completion of the hall's vertical construction, signifying that the building has reached its highest point. The $96 million project, set to open in time for the fall 2025 semester, is the largest single building project MSU has undertaken.

At 159,000 square feet, Azalea Hall will serve as a central hub for students, providing spaces for living, studying, socializing, and enhancing student safety. The building will be located adjacent to the Old Main Academic Center, offering a prime location at the heart of the campus and improving student access to essential services.

"This project focuses on today’s college students’ needs and wants—to engage with one another, have more privacy, and ignite their academic and social well-being," said Dei Allard, MSU Housing and Residence Life executive director. "The design provides optimal opportunities for student engagement and collaboration with one another, as well as the MSU community."

Azalea Hall will feature more than 400 beds across single-room, pod-style housing units. These units will include shared bathrooms, as well as several common areas and amenities. The first floor will feature a social area and dining quarters. The ground level will house meeting spaces and classrooms, which will also serve as FEMA-rated storm shelters in case of inclement weather or natural disasters.

One of the hall’s standout features will be an indoor-outdoor dining area offering a variety of cuisine options. The dining space will rotate culinary choices throughout the year, complementing the updated vision for food services at MSU. Food lockers and a marketplace will also be available for students to quickly grab meals on the go.

"Bringing a dining venue to this area has long been a priority," said Regina Hyatt, vice president for Student Affairs. "Our new dining venue will not only provide easy access for our students, but it will also be a place where visitors and MSU employees can grab a meal."

In addition to the general student amenities, Azalea Hall will house a Living and Learning Community dedicated to MSU's Luckyday Scholars—a program designed to build a supportive, community-driven environment for first-year students. The community will include recreation and study areas, adaptable classrooms, a kitchenette, and office space for the Luckyday Scholars Director and program staff. This initiative was made possible through a generous $4 million donation from the Luckyday Foundation in Jackson, Miss.

“We believe that having a dedicated space for Luckyday Scholars to hold classes, meetings, conversations, and visits with Luckyday program staff is beneficial,” said Jamie Houston, Luckyday Foundation board chair. "A supportive, collaborative community is a core value of our program, and our freshman scholars will now be able to live together with the Luckyday Tower easily accessible."

Construction for Azalea Hall is being managed by HPM, a construction management firm based in Birmingham, Ala., with Roy Anderson Corp., based in Gulfport, Miss., serving as the project’s builder. The lead architect for the project is Wier Boerner Allin Architecture of Jacksonville, Fla., with Mackey Mitchell Architects from St. Louis consulting on the design. Tipton Associates of Baton Rouge, La., handled the design for the dining area.

With significant construction underway across multiple areas of the MSU campus, the build team has closely collaborated with the university to ensure smooth operations. This has included careful planning for safety, the logistics of material imports, and directing student foot traffic around construction zones.

“We have collaborated closely with our university partners to meet all deadlines throughout the construction of Azalea Hall, ensuring this project is ready in time for the next school year,” said P.J. Pearson, project manager at HPM. "We are thankful for our reliable contractors and for our invaluable partnership with Mississippi State in making every stage of this project progress smoothly."

Expansion of Campus Infrastructure and Student Services

‍The Azalea Hall project is part of MSU's ongoing commitment to enhancing the campus environment and providing students with top-tier living and learning facilities. With its unique blend of academic, social, and safety features, the hall is designed to meet the evolving needs of modern students while strengthening the university’s position as a premier institution for higher education in Mississippi.

The completion of Azalea Hall will not only provide students with a state-of-the-art residence and study space but will also contribute to the overall aesthetic and functional development of MSU's campus. As the building nears completion, university officials are confident that it will become a cornerstone of the student experience at Mississippi State University.

Originally reported by Fay Harvey in School Construction News.