College officials announced “a new plan” for housing on campus in a press release today, five days after President Sian Leah Beilock used her inauguration address to describe campus living as among “the biggest sources of stress in our community.”
In its release, the College wrote of its intention to break ground on an undergraduate student housing complex for approximately 250 to 300 students located at 25 West Wheelock Street. Online records show that the address is home to an off-market residence. Construction could begin as early as 2024, according to the release.
In addition, the North End housing project on Lyme Road — an unfinished complex designed for around 400 undergraduates — will instead be used for graduate student living.
Senior vice president for capital planning and campus operations Josh Keniston said the changes came as a result of a May 2022 Hanover Town Meeting. During this meeting, an article proposed by former Dartmouth Student Government president David Millman ’23 and Nicolás Macri ’24 passed, enabling the establishment of a new Zoning district on West Wheelock Street, according to past reporting from The Dartmouth. In June, the Board of Trustees approved a study to determine construction potential in the area.
Keniston added that the West Wheelock Street project, which will ease demand for undergraduate housing, allowed for the North End project’s transition to graduate student living. The decision will “move up creation of more graduate student housing much sooner than expected,” he added.
“Our goal is not just to expand our capacity to house students, but to expand the options students have for how they live on campus, which they’ve told us they want,” Keniston said.
The announcement marks the College’s first effort to improve housing under President Beilock’s administration.
Beilock has pledged to add 1,000 beds on campus over the course of the next decade and begin construction on new undergraduate housing within 24 months.
Correction Appended (1:45 p.m., Sep. 28, 2023): A previous version of this article stated that local officials agreed to development plans on West Wheelock Street. This article has been updated to clarify that construction on West Wheelock Street resulted from a student-led article on the Hanover Town Meeting ballot, not from local officials. The article has been updated.
