Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.—A nearly $100 million budgeted Mississippi State residence hall will serve future Bulldogs as a central hub for campus life, dining, academic partnerships and other community needs for decades to come.
Scheduled to open ahead of the fall 2025 semester, Azalea Hall—a five-story, 159,000-square-foot facility boasting more than 400 bedspaces—will feature private, single-room living areas nested together in pod-like communities available to student residents of all classifications, while its first floor will offer new dining options and social areas, as well as meeting spaces doubling as campus storm shelters open to the entire MSU community. Additionally, the residence hall will host a living and learning community for MSU’s Luckyday Scholars thanks to a $4 million donation by the Luckyday Foundation of Jackson.
Utility work associated with the project—located near the intersection of George Perry Boulevard and Barr Avenue, between Ruby Hall and Old Main Academic Center—began this summer, and construction begins this winter. Roy Anderson Corp. Contractors of Gulfport is overseeing building efforts, while Birmingham, Alabama-based HPM is the project’s construction manager. Wier Boerner Allin Architecture of Jackson is the lead architect; Mackey Mitchell Architects of St. Louis is the consulting architect; and the dining area’s design was created by the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Tipton Associates in partnership with the two architectural firms.
“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. The design provides optimal opportunities for student engagement and collaboration with one another, as well as the MSU community,” said Dei Allard, MSU Housing and Residence Life executive director.
The addition of new dining options in the northern portion of campus is part of MSU’s updated vision for food services. Specific Azalea Hall dining options will include a brick oven and hand-tossed pizza location and a Mediterranean-themed location serving made-to-order pastas; an innovative ghost kitchen offering a diverse, rotating lineup of culinary choices; food lockers for convenient, contactless pickup for patrons on the go; and a Maroon Market.
“Bringing a dining venue to this area has long been a priority. 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,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt.
MSU Housing and Residence Life is located online at www.housing.msstate.edu. Visit www.dining.msstate.edu to learn more about MSU Dining Services. MSU Student Affairs is available at www.saffairs.msstate.edu.
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