New residential complex begins construction at Alcorn State

09/24/2009

By Candy McCampbell

Alcorn State University has started construction of a 1,000-bed, four-building residential complex for men and women students that will replace five aging dormitories on the Lorman, Miss., campus.

Harrell Contracting Group LLC of Jackson, Miss., is the construction manager for the $47 million project.

George E. Ross, Alcorn president, has called the new complex the largest single housing project ever undertaken at Alcorn.

Each residence building will be four stories tall, with about 62,000 sq ft, and will house 250 students in suite-style rooms, says Jessie Stephney, associate vice president for facilities management at Alcorn.

Plans call for two buildings to be completed in August 2010 and the other two in October 2010, he says.

The residence buildings also will house student lounges, study rooms and laundry areas.

The complex also will include an 8,000-sq-ft amenities building with classrooms, a game room, a fitness center, a convenience store, administrative offices and a post office, Stephney says.

“We have not decided whether or not to seek LEED certification,” he says. “However, we did consider green principles during design.”

The new building will replace five men’s and women’s dorms, built in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. They will be demolished as part of this project.

The construction is being funded through sale of bonds by the non-profit Alcorn State University Educational Building Corporation, a lower-cost funding method approved earlier this year by Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning trustees.

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