Montana State to demolish aging West Side Houses, build residence hall

This story originally appeared in the MSU Exponent.Montana State University is planning to construct a new residence hall where the West Side Houses currently stand. The new building will be for upper-division undergraduate and single graduate students.

While still in the early planning stages, the hall is set to accommodate approximately 250 to 300 students as well as additional parking, according to Michael Becker, interim vice president of University Communications. Becker said the project does not yet have a timeline, but it will be several years until the new hall is built.

The West Side Houses were selected for replacement because of their old age and substandard condition, according to Becker.

“The West Side Houses are between 60 and 68 years old, and the level of investment needed to maintain them at the standard we expect for our students isn’t sustainable any longer,” Becker said. “Renovations or repairs to either the homes or infrastructure would need to be major ones, and that work would displace residents, be very expensive and impact rental rates.”

While current occupants are being moved out, the University has plans to house them, according to Becker. “The residents in the West Side Houses who wish to continue living on-campus have been offered units elsewhere in student apartments, such as McIntosh Court, Branegan Court and Paisley Court,” he said.

Becker said the university is adding more housing partly to increase flexibility for temporary closures of existing units during renovations or maintenance.

“There are just over 4,700 beds in the 12 residence halls on campus and about 950 bedrooms in student apartments,” Becker said. “In total, we house approximately 30 percent of MSU’s students, but over the past five years, on-campus housing has been at 91% to 97% capacity.”

Graduate student Audrey Wharton said she thinks more housing for upperclassmen and graduate students will be beneficial, but also raised some concerns about the project.

“I would be curious how this would impact the rents that graduate students have to pay,” she said.

“I’m all for graduate students having higher-quality housing, but if that increases the rent of graduate students, then I feel like that doesn’t really achieve much,” Wharton said.

Over the past year, the university community has identified housing prices in Bozeman as a major issue, per a March 5 Exponent article.

Becker said that MSU keeps housing rates as low as possible while still satisfying financial obligations.

Senior business major Blair Walker said he thinks the university has a responsibility to offer affordable housing.

“Maybe not offering a bed or a room for every student, but at least some so that that is an offer available,” he said.

Walker said he would be interested in living on campus because he values being close to the community.

“I think that’s a super valuable thing, being able to walk to campus and just being in the mix of everything,” he said.

According to Walker, living close to campus is worth paying more, but finding affordable housing nearby is difficult.

“It’s expensive everywhere right now in the whole country, but especially college-focused towns,” he said.

Wharton, who lives off-campus, echoed this statement.

“Housing availability in Bozeman is inherently unaffordable,” she said.

Becker said that new university housing can have a ripple effect on the community, especially the housing market.

“When we open new residence halls, it somewhat eases pressure on the commercial housing market,” he said. “Though, as a state government entity, MSU is mindful not to compete with the private sector.”

For Wharton to be interested in university housing, she said things would have to change.

“It would have to be significantly less expensive than off-campus housing,” she said.