Welcome to the New Apartment Complex
"Evergreen Hall" - Construction Photo Album

The new apartment-style residence hall will officially be named Evergreen Hall.  The site features many mature evergreen trees immediately surrounding the building footprint.  With this in mind, the name has immediate, literal meaning.  This literal meaning is further enhanced because the lumber from evergreen trees removed from the site to accommodate its construction will be used in the interior of the new building for finishing and for mantle pieces for the fireplaces planned in the commons areas.

More significant than the literal meaning, however, the name Evergreen Hall has direct, positive connotations to the “green” or sustainability issues addressed by the building's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification.  In essence, the building will be "evergreen.”  It will incorporate sustainability principles that are environmentally friendly and that will endure throughout its lifetime; it will make use of renewable or eco-friendly materials; and it will be energy efficient on many levels.

The building has already been selected as a Green Building of America Award-winning project.  Nominated for the award by designers Michael J. Burns Architects, Ltd., the Evergreen Hall will be featured as a case study in an upcoming special “Green Success Stories” edition of Real Estate Construction Review.   The award and designation will reinforce the issues of sustainability engendered by the name Evergreen Hall.

There is additional history on the Crookston campus for which the name has further resonance.  While evergreen trees are not native to the prairie biome, the Crookston campus played a role in horticultural research involving evergreen and other trees.  From 1911 through 1956, but most notably in the 1930s, T.M. McCall, a horticulturists for the research station and eventually the superintendent of the Northwest School of Agriculture (the precursor of the U of M, Crookston), conducted a series of horticultural trials and windbreak plantings involving evergreen and other tree species.  His research and advocacy led to wider use of these trees across the northern Minnesota prairie.

A committee appointed by Chancellor Casey  recommend the name to the All University Honors Committee and the Board of Regents after surveying students, faculty, and staff on the Crookston campus.  The name was approved by the Board of Regents at the June 12, 2009 meeting.


Photos by John Zak, Andrew Svec, and Sebesta Blomberg

Note: You can save any picture to your computer by right clicking and selecting "Save Picture As". Enjoy!