Location: MSU – Bozeman, MT
Project Size: 54,000 SF
Completed: 2021

LEED GOLD Certification 2022

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Romney Hall has anchored Montana State University's Bozeman campus since 1922, when it opened as the university's original state-funded physical education building — an Italian Renaissance-style structure that became one of campus's most recognizable buildings. By the time renovation began, though, the century-old gym had become largely unusable: thousands of square feet sat vacant, and only four classrooms totaling 140 seats remained in service.

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Swank Enterprises was selected as contractor through a competitive interview process, chosen for the firm's experience with historic renovations, attention to detail, and cost-saving solutions, along with its reputation for quality and for delivering projects on time and within budget.

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Construction ran from July 2019 to November 2021, transforming the old gymnasium into 17 new classrooms — including a 300-seat "classroom in the round" built into the former gym floor — that lifted total seating from 140 to more than 1,000, a 13 percent increase in classroom capacity campuswide. The renovation also added new homes for the university's veterans support center, disability services, writing center, and math center, plus full ADA accessibility throughout a building that previously had only one marginally accessible classroom. Working within the 54,000-square-foot, century-old structure, the Swank team preserved more than 55 percent of the existing building, restoring original terrazzo floors and repurposing salvaged marble panels, while a new aluminum-and-glass stair and elevator addition reveals the building's historic brick rather than hiding it.

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Sustainability ran alongside preservation: the completed building earned LEED Gold certification in 2022 — the ninth LEED-certified building on MSU's campus — powered in part by a geothermal system beneath Romney Oval and SolarWall technology that captures solar-heated air for the HVAC system. The project recycled or reused more than 2,300 tons of construction waste, nearly 80 percent of the total generated.

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Romney Hall celebrated its grand opening on November 12, 2021, with MSU President Waded Cruzado calling it "a great day to be a Bobcat." The renovation went on to receive an Adaptive Reuse Award from the City of Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board, recognizing a project that turned a century-old gymnasium sitting empty at the heart of campus into one of the university's most heavily used academic buildings.

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