MSOE plans $37 million renovation and expansion of its oldest residence hall

Milwaukee School of Engineering’s oldest and largest residence hall will undergo a $37 million renovation and expansion, the school announced today.

MSOE officials today unveiled plans for the revamp of Roy W. Johnson Residence Hall, 1121 N. Milwaukee St., which will include adding 48 rooms and a southern-facing, glass-enclosed addition that will house “collaboration hubs.”

When the project is completed, the building will be renamed the Hermann Viets Memorial Tower in honor of Hermann Viets, MSOE’s former president. Viets, who led the college for about 25 years, died in October 2017.

John Walz, president of MSOE, said the school has received $32 million in philanthropic commitments for the project.

The new “living-learning community” will include dedicated work spaces, classrooms, private study areas and collaboration hubs, new restrooms and a kitchenette on every floor. Ground floor renovations will include new classroom space, collaboration hubs, meeting spaces and a refreshed dining hall.

“This Living-Learning Community will be designed to support MSOE’s hands-on, application-oriented approach to learning,” Walz said. “The reimagined spaces will promote a sense of community in a lively, flexible and safe environment that integrates living and learning in a way that enhances and supports student success.”

The addition will be constructed in a portion of what is currently a parking lot on the south side of the building.

The residence hall, which was dedicated in 1965, is located next to MSOE’s new 64,000-square-foot Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall, which is expected to open in the fall. The new AI-focused facility was funded by a $34 million gift from MSOE alumnus Dwight Diercks and his wife, Dian.

It continues a series of building projects at MSOE. The campus’s German-English Academy building, 1020 N. Broadway, is undergoing a renovation to accommodate Direct Supply Inc.’s existing technology center. That project is also expected to be completed by the fall.

Walz said he expects the project will secure final approval from MSOE’s Board of Regents later this year and in time for a May or June 2020 groundbreaking. The building is expected to open for the fall 2021 term.

The college is working with Uihlein-Wilson/Ramlow-Stein Architects on preliminary design work for the project.

While the building is undergoing construction, second-year students will live in off-campus housing. Freshmen will be placed in MSOE’s other dorms.

Walz said Johnson Residence Hall was deemed the highest-priority among its three residence halls for a revamp.

“It’s the one that probably needed the most help out of the three,” Walz said. “If we’re going to have an impact, this would be the one that would do the biggest impact for us.”

The renovation will allow the building to house 96 additional students. It currently houses about 450 students. Walz said the college needs the expanded capacity, as its enrollment trends upward. MSOE saw its largest incoming class last fall, reported total enrollment of 2,610 for the 2018-19 school year.

The college’s new computer science degree program, which launched in fall 2018, has helped drive enrollment growth over the past year, Walz said.

Walz said there could be increases in student housing costs when the renovation is completed.