Mercer’s campus received a face-lift for the upcoming semester with the completion of Legacy Hall, the pedestrian bridge and the Lofts at Mercer Landing.
Work on Legacy Hall continued throughout the 2015-2016 school year and was completed this summer. The new dorms are expected to house several hundred freshmen this school year.
“Legacy Hall adds 300 beds of student housing for freshmen, which allows the university to accommodate more undergraduate students who want to live in campus housing,” said Kyle Sears, director of the media relations at Mercer, in an email.
The new hall took the place of a large parking lot that ran behind Mary Erin Porter and Plunkett residence halls. In order to make up for the lost parking spaces, the university’s physical plant facility was moved and the communications and human resources building was torn down.
“So we actually have 200 more parking places over there than what we had before,” Underwood told the Telegraph.
The dorm is co-ed and comes equipped with double occupancy rooms, built-in sinks and community bathrooms.
Freshman resident Jordan Boomgaarden said he’s enjoying the amenities offered in his new home at Legacy Hall in particular.
“[Legacy Hall] is pretty fresh. I like the bathrooms and the showers and the rooms are super clean,” Boomgaarden said.
Legacy Hall also contains several lounge rooms and bear card-restricted gates surrounding the perimeter facing Ash Street.
The Lofts at Mercer Landing were also completed this summer. Located across from Five Star Stadium, the new lofts offer fully furnished bedroom options for one to four occupants and will house about 315 students, reports the Telegraph. The building has amenities such as a gym, lounges and rooftop access.
With the completion of the Lofts at Mercer Landing, the pedestrian bridge crossing Mercer University Drive is also set to open before classes start on Aug. 23. Complete with a light display, the bridge connects the new lofts with the edge of Mercer’s campus and offers a gateway to downtown Macon.
“The University, the Macon-Bibb government and the private developers who collaborated on this project have created a vibrant, attractive entry point that signals arrival at a progressive community and university,” Sears said.
New dorms, pedestrian bridge bring changes to campus
One of the pick-up areas for the Mercer student shuttle is across the bridge in the football parking lot.
Legacy Hall is expected to house 300 incoming Freshmen this fall.
