News

Dalton State Hosts Ribbon Cutting for New Residence Hall

07/05/16

Crystal Stark believes the opening of Mashburn Hall should increase the already strong sense of community she feels as a student at Dalton State.

“I’m absolutely excited about living in Mashburn Hall,” said the criminal justice major. “I was a little nervous about the transition from several apartment buildings to one residential hall, but after seeing the layout and amenities, plus the activities planned for the building, I know it will definitely bring the residents together.”

Mashburn Hall is on schedule to be open in time for students to move in for fall semester, which begins Aug. 15.

There will be a ribbon cutting and open house on Thursday, July 21 at 10 a.m. This will provide all members of Roadrunner Nation and the Dalton community a chance to tour the new building.

The building includes 365 beds in one-, two-, and four-bedroom suites with semi-private bathrooms as well as common spaces, game rooms, kitchen areas, an outdoor patio, a fire pit, and a covered veranda. It is being built by Winter Construction and will be maintained by Corvias Campus Living.

The project is thanks to the University System of Georgia’s Public-Private Partnership (P3) initiative for on-campus housing at seven of the system’s campuses in which a total of 3,733 beds will be added. Corvias will maintain the housing for 65 years.

“I love that the building features so many different community spaces,” said Matthew McCarthy, assistant director of Residential Life. “These spaces will allow our students to connect and engage with one another in a way that hasn’t been possible until Mashburn Hall. There really is something for everyone and every occasion – chat spaces, community kitchens, game lounges, and a multipurpose room. We are very excited about opening this brand new residence hall and think it will really add to the student experience like never before.

“I think Mashburn Hall will provide our students a more traditional college experience with competitive amenities,” he said. “The building was designed with upgraded WiFi technology allowing students to connect up to five different devices with 50 megabytes per second download speed per device without having to compete for internet speed or quality.”

Security is a focus of the building. Students will be required to use their student identity card to access the building, and there is a front desk that will be staffed much of the day and evening.

“Mashburn Hall was specifically designed to enhance our departmental programs, and offer more programming space,” McCarthy said. “Our staff is working hard to plan more education and social programs to take advantage of all the new community spaces located throughout the building.”

There are still limited spaces available in the residence hall. Anyone interested in living in Mashburn Hall must first be accepted as a student to Dalton State and can then apply for housing.

“My overall college experience will increase because of this new residential building,” Stark said.