SC State Building Boom Brings New Dorm, Classrooms by 2027

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Students at South Carolina State University should see a new residence hall, a bigger student center and a new classroom building open within the next year, as the state’s only public historically Black university pushes ahead on roughly $330 million in construction, the university reported Wednesday.

The money comes from a mix of state, federal and university dollars. The work is tied to the school’s strategic plan, called The Garnet and Blueprint 2030, which aims to add housing, modernize teaching space and grow enrollment over time.

The largest housing piece is Benjamin E. Mays Hall, a $50 million dorm with space for about 500 students. First-year students get first claim on rooms. Steel went up in late September and interior walls followed in late October, and the university is aiming to move students in by July 2027, before fall classes start.

Bulldog Commons, which adds 44,000 square feet to the Green Student Center, is also aiming for a July 2027 finish. The $20 million project will roughly double the center to about 78,000 square feet and add dining space, a bookstore, a career office, an esports area and cafes. It follows a $4.4 million makeover of the existing building.

A $54.7 million academic building of about 90,000 square feet is rising where Turner Hall stood, with an October 2027 move-in target. It will hold general education classes plus the education, humanities and social sciences college, and will include a mock courtroom. Sojourner Truth Hall, a 384-bed dorm, is due to reopen in April 2027 after a $25 million renovation; the school has asked for $2 million more to cover surprises found during construction.

Ground was broken in October on a $30 million library that will replace Miller F. Whittaker Library and give the Dr. Emily England Clyburn Honors College its own commons, offices and meeting rooms. No opening date has been set.

Still in planning or design are a $15 million Nance Hall renovation, a $19 million ROTC center with a pool, a $14 million transportation research center, a public safety building ($8 million) and a fence around the campus edge ($7 million). The state has handed the university $7.5 million to design a successor to the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, its convocation venue, and the school wants another $60 million from lawmakers for construction.

Beyond Orangeburg, the school’s Public Service and Agriculture arm has about $49.8 million in projects, including a research and extension center in Cayce, a camp redevelopment in Elloree with a freshwater research lab, and a demonstration farm upgrade in Olar in Bamberg County. Newer extension centers already serve Anderson, Florence and Rock Hill.

Filed under: Irmo SC Education News