West Hall Innovation Center

The West Hall 21st Century Innovation Center project combined state investments of more than $7 million for important renovations and modernizations of the 50-year-old West Hall building with NMC-funded investments of more than $7 million to create a 54,000-square-foot, multi-story library and flexible learning space. It incorporates innovative and transformative learning environments and multiple academic and simulation spaces.The building also houses Campus Safety & Security, Dining Services including the Hawk Owl Cafe and Northwest Grind, Educational Media Technologies, the Technology Help Desk and the WNMC 90.7 FM college radio station. It opened in the summer of 2020 for the Fall 2020 semester.

NMC celebrated the building's opening with a livestreamed ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. View a photo gallery from the ceremony here and a video here.

The project received extensive campus and community input, including 270 comments during a campus-wide opening conference and 17 user group workshops. It also won the support of state legislators including Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, and Sen. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City.

Learn more about the project here:

Department, office and service moves

While construction of the Innovation Center was underway, departments and services that were previously in West Hall moved:

Academic Scheduling to Beckett Room JB 110
Administrative Services Coordinator Cathy McCall to Tanis Room T 55
Apartment Management to Biederman Room LB 104
Bookstore to Health & Science Building Room HS 101
Central Scheduling to Beckett Room JB 107
Childcare to Physical Education Center Room P 206
International Services to Scholars Hall Room SH 29
Student Life to Osterlin Room O 152
Tutoring Center to Osterlin Room O 210
Veterans Lounge to Osterlin Room O 103
Vice President of Finance Vicki Cook to Tanis Room T 55

West Hall renamed the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center - More »

View project renderings and photo galleries »

View a floor plan PDF »

Highlighted areas indicate rooms that can be reserved by NMC employees.
Numbers in highlighted areas indicate room and furniture layout capacity.

View the updated campus map »

Project Timeline

June 8, 2016 - The state legislature passes the state’s general government omnibus budget bill for FY 2016-17, which includes more than seven million dollars for the West Hall Innovation Center.
June 22, 2017 - The project receives final funding approval as part of the state legislature’s FY18 Omnibus Budget.
Fall 2017–Spring 2018 - The project steering committee meets with the architect to finalize the interior.
Summer 2018 - Offices and services move to temporary locations.
Summer 2018 - Abatement and re-routing of electrical power and fiber optic cables.
September 24, 2018 - Groundbreaking ceremony held.
September 2018 - Demolition of the old West Hall building begins.
October 2018 - Building demolition complete.
Fall 2018–2019 - Construction of the new West Hall Innovation Center.
November 2018 - New building foundation begins.
December 2018 - Deep pile foundation installation completed, sub-base material installed.
January 2019 - Structural concrete foundation installation.
February 2019 - $2.3 million in roofing, wall, flooring, painting, fire suppression and other project bids approved.
March 2019 - Masonry at East Stairwell, foundation grade beam installation, underground plumbing.
April 2019 - Install structural steel, waterproof and backfill foundation walls.
May 2019 - Connect water main, construct elevator shaft, install metal decking on steel, structural steel erection continues.
June 2019 - Exterior and interior wall framing, window and wall blocking, sanitary lines tie-in, steel erection continues.
July 2019 - Concrete work mostly complete; wall framing, electrical work and geothermal well drilling being done; audiovisual and IT cabling contracts approved.
August 2019 - Geothermal well installation, water main installation, interior and exterior rough wall construction, basement access floors, curtain wall installation and glass delivery for the south elevation.
September 2019 - Prepped and poured floors, started drywall, installed glass on south elevation, installed window framing on north library wall and east stairwell window, finished geothermal well installation, started framing walls and roofing, roughing in mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
October 2019 - Brick and exterior panel installation, glass and sunshade installation, poured sidewalks on north, east and south sides, interior framing, drywall on all three floors, paint on second floor.
November 2019 - Finishing drywall in the basement and first floor area B, starting drywall on first floor area A, painting in the basement and on second floor, window installation on the north and west elevations, ceiling installation on the second floor, interior wall paneling installation on the first and second floors, panel installation in the penthouse, basement and skybox storefront installation, pouring sidewalks on the south side of the site.
December 2019 - Dedication ceremony held Dec. 20; basement bookstore demolition and framing; first floor ceilings; second floor ceilings, bathroom fixtures and carpet installation; skybox frame installation; elevator installation; start hanging sound baffles.
January 2020 - Hanging and finishing drywall, installing ceilings and sound panels, installing fire alarms, framing and drywall in stairwells, hanging light fixtures throughout the building.
February 2020 - Installing carpet in the basement; doors, hardware, sink and lighting installation in area A; exterior panel installation; finishing drywall in kitchen, EMT and coffee areas; painting in area A and EMT area.
March 2020 - Construction halted to comply with Stay Home, Stay Safe Executive Order.
May 2020 - Construction resumes following Executive Order to Re-Open Construction & Real Estate Safely.
June, 2020 - Substantial completion of project. Furniture, fixtures and equipment for kitchen and library moved in.
July, 2020 - Project completed, fire services inspection conducted with no deficiencies noted, letter of occupancy issued, health department inspected the Hawk Owl Café. Cornerstone Architects issued a Notice of Substantial Completion.
August, 2020 - All remaining punchlist items required to be addressed and Owner Training & Closeout items complete.
September 18, 2020 - Ribbon cutting ceremony held.View a photo gallery here and a video here.