Butte Hall, the current location for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences is set to begin undergoing renovations mid fall semester as classes and offices are moved to the new Behavioral and Social Sciences building.
Butte Hall was built in 1972. The academic building is seven stories high, the second tallest building on campus after Whitney Hall, which has now been closed since 2023. Butte Hall is 89,000 square feet with three computer labs, seven conference rooms, 24 lecture spaces and 161 offices.
In accordance with the Chico State 2030 Master Plan, a framework for the growth and development of the campus, Butte Hall will be demolished and replaced with a new residence hall.
The consensus by the Facilities Management Administration was for some older structures, like the 52-year-old building, to be replaced with new buildings built with energy-conscious construction. The developments aim to reduce energy consumption within those buildings, hence the new energy-net-neutral Behavioral and Social Sciences building.
The administration aims to make improvements, expansions, demolitions and renovations to campus. The Chico State 2030 Master Plan has four main phases for construction. Within phase one is the Butte Replacement Building, which consists of the construction of the new Behavioral and Social Sciences building.
It’s not until phase three of the plan that the demolition of Butte Hall and construction of a new north residence hall on the site of Butte Hall, south of Lassen Hall, are planned to occur. According to the plan, Chico State administration aims to create more student housing close to the core of campus and allow more incoming freshmen to live on campus.
Before the demolition of Butte Hall and the new construction of the north residence hall, Butte Hall will be undergoing minor renovations to function temporarily during the work of other projects.
Whitney Hall closed in 2023 to make updates to the building’s heating and cooling system. The residential hall originally housed 528 students and its closing caused many students to find alternative housing options.
The master plans’ proposed future north residence hall will be six stories high, have 600 beds, a possible green roof and be 187,000 gross square feet. According to the plan, “Once the new North Residence Halls are online and Shasta and Lassen are renovated, the university can relocate all first-year students from University Village to campus.”
The creation of the The Chico State 2030 Master Plan began in 2018. The plan’s goals are to create an inclusive, connected, experimental, mobile, learning and sustainable Chico State.
Within the plan is the Environmental Impact Report, which reports on the environmental effects the new developments would have on the campus and community.
As stated in the plan, “Butte Hall has long served the institution, providing a large percentage of the overall instructional and office space on campus.”
Currently, there is no exact date for when the demolition of Butte Hall or construction of the new residential hall will occur.
Bea Williams can be reached at [email protected].
