For the past 75 years NMC has been pushing the boundaries of what a school can be, from unique technical programs to the commitment to the idea of a “grassroots” college. Although one problem has existed seemingly through the entirety of campus history, housing.

 

When NMC opened in 1951, there was no official campus housing for the first decade of operation. The first few years of the front street campus were full of excitement, but it wasn't until 1963 that West hall went up, providing the first on campus housing to the student body.

 

West hall once held the student center, a common room for games, dining, and socialization in the early years of student housing. One problem remained: West hall was a male only dormitory. The women's housing was an old residential home, with so many female students attending campus, some rooms had triple bunks. In 1965 East hall was built as the female dorm.

 

The next major expansion in housing came in 1973, when the Apartments were built to make space for the quickly expanding student population, as well as out of district students. The apartments on campus have remained relatively unchanged since then.

 

For many years, this was all that existed for student housing, and beyond heavy renovations in the late 70s, student housing had an unremarkable history. This is until the 1998 East Hall fire, one of very few serious crimes in the history of NMC.

 

In 1998 a student started a small fire on a dare while intoxicated. The fire spread fast,and due to Fire alarms being tripped by students so often, many students did not take it seriously.

The fire left 9 students hospitalized, one with serious burns. The fire also damaged the lobby and the south side, leaving it closed off for the next year. The student who caused the fire was sentenced to 10 years in jail for arson.

 

In response NMC became the first college in the state to contact police immediately, as well as expelling any student that caused a false alarm.

 

In recent years many improvements have been made to student housing.  The new North hall was built in 2017, as well as the old West hall being gutted and rebuilt as the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center. In 2024 the student Apartments were expanded with the acquisition of front street flats, formerly the East Bay park apartments.

 

The NMC campus master plan, running up to 2034 calls for new student housing to be built between East and North Hall sometime in the future.