A before and after view of the new Dobbs group from the south, near Memorial Stadium.
Following the University of Missouri Board of Curators meeting, the Dobbs group is about to be upgraded. Jones residence hall and the Pavilion at Dobbs dining hall will be demolished, and in their place, two new residential halls and a new dining hall will be built as part of the Dobbs Replacement Project.
A possible second phase includes the replacement of Laws and Lathrop halls in the same area, and if approved, would complete the renovation or replacement of all campus residence halls since 2004. It will prepare residential life at the university for the next few decades.
“This is a benefit for the whole campus,” Director of Residential Life Frankie Minor says. “We’ve had to turn away hundreds, if not thousands, of students who want to live on campus, but we don’t have the space. Our goal is always to accommodate as many students as possible.”
An overhead view of the new Dobbs project. The before image is above, the completed stage one is below.
Located near the southwest corner of campus, the 56-year-old Jones hall will be the first to go. It currently has 340 beds, and combined with Laws and Lathrop, offers 1,010 beds. The new project will have 1,269 beds, increasing capacity by 259. The needed renovation would have reduced space to 963 beds. The expanded footprint of the new buildings — planned to be five stories tall and styled similar to North, Center and South halls — will cover where Jones currently is and the basketball court on the south side of the building.
The cost per student living in the halls will only be $250 more over the course of the year because of the decision to replace instead of renovate. With that data, students asked preferred the replacement option.
Dobbs will be upgraded to a facility that will hold up to 750 people to meet the increased need for campus dining.
