Mississippi State University Completes Vertical Construction on $96 Million Azalea Hall

By Fay Harvey 

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State University (MSU) recently celebrating the topping out of Azalea Hall, the campus’ new five-story multipurpose building and its largest single building project to date. The milestone signifies that the hall’s building has reached its highest point, marking an important step in the construction process.  

The $96 million hall, scheduled to open in time for the fall 2025 semester, will feature spaces for living, collaborating, studying and safety. The 159,000-square-foot facility will sit adjacent to the campus’ Old Main Academic Center in the heart of campus, expanding student access to indispensable 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, in a statement. “The design provides optimal opportunities for student engagement and collaboration with one another, as well as the MSU community.”  

More than 400 beds across single-room, pod-style housing units will be available to students. Azalea Hall residents will have access to shared bathrooms as well as common areas and amenities, including a social area and dining quarters on the first floor. Meeting spaces and classrooms on the ground level will double as FEMA-rated storm shelters to keep students and staff safe during inclement weather and potential natural disasters.  

The indoor-outdoor dining area will offer a plethora of cuisine options as part of MSU’s updated vision for food services. Culinary choices will rotate throughout the year alongside food lockers and a marketplace for quick food pick up. 

“Bringing a dining venue to this area has long been a priority,” said Regina Hyatt, vice president for Student Affairs, in a statement. “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.”  

The residence hall will also host a living and learning community specifically for MSU’s Luckyday Scholars, a scholarship and community-building program for first-year students. The dedicated areas will include recreation and study areas, classrooms with adaptable seating and tables, a kitchenette and office space for the Luckyday Scholars director and program staff. The addition was made possible through a $4 million donation for Azalea Hall from the Luckyday Foundation of 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, in a statement. “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 management for Azalea Hall is being led by Birmingham, Ala.-based HPM, with Gulfport, Miss.,-based Roy Anderson Corp. as the project builder. Jacksonville-based Wier Boerner Allin Architecture served as the lead architect alongside consulting architect Mackey Mitchell Architects of St. Louis. Tipton Associates of Baton Rouge, La., led design of the dining area.  

With construction underway across vital parts of campus, the build team has worked with MSU to coordinate safety, logistics of material imports and alternate routes for students. 

“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, in a statement. “We are thankful for our reliable contractors and for our invaluable partnership with Mississippi State in making every stage of this project progress smoothly.”