UM breaks ground on new 600-bed residence hall
Bridget Lynn Pack
(Missoula Current) On the heels of enrollment growth, the University of Montana on Tuesday broke ground on a new 600-bed residence hall – the first new campus dorm in 30 years.
Seth Bodnar, president of the University of Montana, said students' time living on campus is an important part of their college experience. He said the dorm isn't just a building, but a community.
“We know first and foremost that when students live on campus, they build community. They succeed in the classroom at higher rates,” Bodnar said. “They make friends, and they get guidance from the fantastic (resident assistants) we have here at this university.”
The building was designed to balance the residents' needs and preferences with successful community-building strategies. It includes 17 small communities within the larger building and has intentional design features to create community and support for the residents.
With the increasing housing shortage in Missoula, the university is experiencing a rise in demand from sophomore and junior students who want to live on campus.
According to university officials, the current count of students registered for on-campus housing for the 2024-2025 academic year was nearly 1,980 as of Tuesday. It marks an increase of 55 students compared to last year.
Out of the total, 1,368 are first-year students, 518 are upper-level students, and 90 are new transfer students.
“These halls are not just the place where we lay our heads at the end of the day to sleep,” said McKinlie Ballard. “Rather, they are where students form lifelong friendships and begin learning the lessons of adulthood.”
The university prioritizes student success by providing affordable access to education. The new residence hall is part of a larger effort to renew campus housing and create a modern student living experience.
As it moves forward with constructing the new residence hall, the university acknowledges temporary inconveniences, such as parking challenges. Construction on the new building will reduce campus parking, a long-standing issue at UM.
The University of Montana aims to minimize the impact by adding parking spaces in other areas of the campus. This summer, about 214 parking spots were added, which roughly offsets the number of spots being removed due to the construction of the new residence hall. Some of the recent parking additions include 113 spaces at the university tennis courts and several dozen more around other parts of the campus.
The 171,000-square-foot residence hall, which is being built on the southwest end of campus next to Pantzer Hall, is tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.
According to Dave Kuntz, UM's Director of Strategic Communications, the new dorm's construction is estimated to cost around $70 million, and Dick Anderson Construction will carry it out.