Mabee Hall is the most recently renovated addition to the Freshman Village. Construction of the former Sikes Hall concluded this summer, and rooms opened up for the 2024-25 incoming class this fall.

Zach Snyder, director of residence life, said he has high hopes for this dorm. 

“Mabee Hall represents our ongoing commitment to enhancing the student experience at ACU,” Snyder said. “I hope this newly renovated space fosters growth, community and a sense of belonging for all who live there. I’m excited to see how it will serve our students for years to come.”

The most noticeable change to the building is the addition of a three-story lobby that provides community space for residents and an elevator for accessibility. The center of the original facility was removed to create more distinct wings that allow for better management of the spaces for men and women. An additional entrance was added on the east side to encourage students to park in the Williams Performing Arts Center for less parking congestion. 

Kevin Campbell, senior vice president of operations, said most of the changes made to the existing building were cosmetic. 

“We painted everything, we put all new LED light fixtures in, we added floorings, we replaced all the ceiling tiles in the bathrooms, all of the mirrors in the bathrooms and all the vents from the bathrooms,” Campbell said. “Those are the things that the students will notice.”

One thing commonly noted about the old Sikes Hall was the lack of lawn space. A goal during the creation of Freshman Village was to provide beautiful outdoor space that residents can enjoy. Sikes originally had the least amount of community space, which further encouraged the decision to remodel the residence hall. 

“One of the No. 1 goals of the Freshman Village project is to continue to draw students out of their room and into the common space and community space with each other,” Campbell said. 

Triple occupancy rooms cost $2,800 a semester and double occupancy rooms cost $3,400 a semester. Including a private bathroom, common kitchen area, common patio/grill area, lobby with TV and a free laundry room, this dorm is fully functional for the incoming class of ’28.

“The rooms that are on the west side of Mabee are three-person rooms, and the rooms on the east side are two-person rooms,” Campbell said. “The rooms on the west side are about, if I remember correctly, about 80 to 100 square feet larger than the rooms on the east side.”

For 75 years, the Mabee Foundation has been a major supporter of Christian higher education. For years it has been involved in the ACU community. In fact, one of the first projects the foundation highly contributed to was the original Mabee Hall. 

“We communicated the long-term plans for Mabee Hall, the original Mabee Hall, that it didn’t have much life left in it,” Campbell said. “[The foundation] had a strong desire to keep the Mabee Hall name on our campus. The Mabee Foundation was a tremendous partner in helping in the renovation of Sikes. Part of that was the renaming of Sikes to Mabee hall.”

The old Mabee dorm remains unoccupied. A campus master plan is being formulated that calls for demolishing the building and constructing an academic building in its place. There is no immediate timeline for this project. 

“We hope [the new building] would be something that was a part of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences because of the proximity,” Campbell said. “That is the hope, but we’ll see what the future holds.”

For the time being, construction on Freshman Village is coming to an end as the next focus gears toward the cosmetics of buildings throughout campus and the completion of projects still active. The baseball field aims to be completed before the season begins, and in the near future, Kojie Park and new intramural fields are in the process of being designed and planned. Maintenance pertaining to lighting and HVAC are set to be completed across campus. 

“Over the next year, we will be working with the Board and administration to try and determine what’s next,” Campbell said. “With the pace by which we have been building over the last recent years, I do anticipate a new season where it won’t feel like there’s a major construction project happening at all times.”