Maple hall lets Freshman live in luxury

Maple Hall’s construction was completed over the summer, adding almost 300 beds to campus housing. The new building, which is LEED Silver certified, helps to house the one of the largest freshmen classes Mines has seen.

The building contains suites that each have two rooms connected by a shared bathroom. The individual rooms can either house one or two students, determined by a lottery.

There are five social spaces in Maple Hall, including a recreation room that has a pool table and a shuffleboard table. All five social spaces also have large TVs that can be used for “practic[ing] a presentation or they can hook up a video game system and play some video games with their friends,” according to Nick Antonicci, Residence Life Coordinator for Maple Hall and Weaver Towers.

Each floor has two study lounges with white boards and each floor has one social lounge with multiple couches and another flat screen TV.

There are two courtyards, one in front of the building facing the street and one in the middle of the building in the shape of the Mines spherical triangle that houses one of the gas grills available for the students to use at any point during the semester.
There is a bike storage area and workshop that contains lockers that will be raffled out to students for yearly use.

There is a sound-proofed music room, “Just so that students could explore their creative abilities,” said Antonicci. There is a piano in the room, a whiteboard with a music staff, and stands for music. There is also a baby grand piano in the lobby of the building.

The building achieved LEED Silver during its construction. “All of the stone was [quarried] within 70 miles of the construction site. 50% of the waste was recycled and salvaged, including 75% of the cement from the sidewalk and streets.”

There is a kitchen and study area that contains a document camera on a podium, a large projector two ranges, two ovens, a large refrigerator, a sink, and two bar style seating areas.

There is also a large laundry room that offers ten washers and driers, as compared to the Traditionals’ three washers and two dryers. As with all other laundry facilities on campus, laundry is now free for residents.

Maple Hall is priced competitively, at $5,334 a year for a double room and $6,134 a year for a single room. Comparatively, the Traditionals are $4,638 a year for a double and $5,486 a year for a single while Mines Park is $4,972 a year for a double.

On August 23, Maple Hall had a grand opening where visitors were treated to a tour of the building as well as refreshments.

“We’re really excited [about Maple Hall],” said Katie Schmalzel, Residence Life Coordinator for the Traditionals and Mines Park.