McDonald Hall, which was built in 1929 and has housed students on and off for nearly 100 years, will be demolished in the coming months becoming the first of many changes related to student housing.

“We are beginning a Residence Life Renewal Project where we will be building new residence halls and renovating some of our existing halls,” Kevin Campbell, senior vice president for operations, said. “The first project will be a new residence hall for freshmen that will be built on the location where McDonald currently resides.”

The new residence hall will allow for a wider selection of freshman housing choices and help relieve many crowded housing problems. Right now Sikes, Gardner and Nelson are the only options for freshmen women and the men have the option to reside at Edwards or Mabee hall.

The new dorm planned to be built on the site of McDonald hall will increase the options for student housing.

“Much of our fundraising has been focused on academic buildings, athletic facilities and student scholarships in recent years,” Campbell said. “We are now turning toward the renovation and renewal of our residence halls, which will enable our halls to be on the same level as our other new facilities across campus.”

Putting the fundraising efforts towards this new Residence Life Renewal Project was done to allow students to connect better with their community in new community spaces.

The hall is currently being used by ACUPD for training, such as active shooter training, and will continue to be used up until actual demolition, Campbell said.

“Over the next several weeks, we will begin preparing the facility for demolition,” Campbell said. “The actual demolition will take place about 10 weeks from now.”

The new facility replacing McDonald will be able to hold an additional 2oo students compared to what the hall previously was able to hold.