Texas A&M Completes Maritime Academy Residence Hall

GALVESTON, Texas — Midshipmen at the Texas A&M Maritime Academy moved into the academy’s new $45 million residence in December 2015. The six-story Texas A&M Maritime Academy Hall houses 612 midshipmen and is located on the Texas A&M campus in Galveston. The innovative project will help address the need for more housing, as the campus has grown from 551 students in 1987 to more than 2,300 today.

El Paso, Texas-headquarted Hunt Companies, in partnership with Texas A&M University, provided development and construction management services for design, finance, site and vertical construction. Moss & Associates, a Hunt affiliate headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was the project’s general contractor. Houston-based architecture and engineering firm PGAL completed the building’s architectural design. Construction on the residence hall began in June 2014.

The Texas A&M Maritime Academy Hall design focuses on the need to provide midshipmen direct access to residential, leadership and centralized gathering locations, according to a statement by Hunt Companies. The facility features two residential wings and two 2-bedroom apartments for Residence Life staff connected to a central commons area including classrooms, study lounges, flexible social spaces, staff and cadet offices, a reception area, laundry facilities, a convenience shop and storage. An adjacent space features an illuminated formation court, and residents can also enjoy the outdoor Midshipmen Main Deck.

“This new midshipmen residence hall will make the growth of our maritime academy possible and therefore provide the officers needed as America’s merchant fleet expands to meet national interests,” said retired Rear Admiral Robert Smith III, USN, chief executive officer, Texas A&M University at Galveston and superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, in a statement on the academy’s website.

“The priority is to deliver a comfortable and amenity driven living environment to the future cadets, instructors and staff of the residence hall at Texas A&M at Galveston,” said Sinclair Cooper, president of Hunt Companies’ Public Infrastructure Division, in a 2014 statement made after Hunt was selected for the project. “We are honored to work with this respected university to help prepare its students to be the leaders of tomorrow and carry on the extraordinary traditions of the cadet program.”

The Texas A&M Maritime Academy is one of six maritime academies in the U.S. preparing graduates for licensing as officers in the U.S. Merchant Marine and for commissioning in the U.S. Navy