Summer of Construction: Campus Sees Updates as New Housing is Planned

President Beilock has more proposed changes to the Dartmouth College landscape than one can count on their hands. I’ll grant you, she’s not changing the skyline—we have Hanlon to thank for the major additions of the Irving Center and the Engineering and Computer Science Center—but her administration is working to address the current housing crisis at the College. 

In order to execute the “single largest housing investment in the College’s history,” the Beilock administration has been rapidly increasing the amount of yellow tape around campus. After all, the goal is 1,000 more beds in Hanover for the students, faculty, and staff of the College. These renovations, while ambitious, are excessive, especially when we consider the increase in termly housing costs to $4006!

If you’re wondering, dear reader, what sections might be under renovation, look no further than the list we at The Review have humbly compiled. 

The East Wheelock Cluster

This includes the area surrounding the Andres, Zimmerman, McCulloch, and Morton dormitories. The dorm famously had a mold outbreak in 2021 due to an issue with the air conditioning system, and is undergoing renovations to address the heating system and give a facelift, so to speak, to the outdated (and no longer charming) aspects of the dorm. This project is set to conclude this summer, though we at The Review remain dubious.

The Fayerweather Halls

Among the oldest dormitories on campus, the Fayerweather Halls, commonly referred to as North Fay, Mid Fay, and South Fay, began construction this summer and are expected to be complete by the summer of 2026. This move takes the largest first-year housing cluster out of service, effectively alienating many sophomores and upperclassmen from on-campus housing options as freshmen fill dorms typically used for members of older classes such as the Summit Apartments in Lebanon, as well as Mass Row among other traditionally upperclassmen dorms. The model for these dorms seems to improve aesthetics and functionality within the dorms, which have long failed to meet any ADA standards. 

Massachusetts Row

Once the Fayerweathers are complete in 2026, the attention, or, rather, demolition, will shift to Massachusetts Row, another “North, Mid, and South” series of dorms beloved by many generations of Dartmouth students. 

Expansions on West Wheelock

The news of this acquisition was announced towards the end of June, though residents of these West Wheelock buildings had heard rumblings since 2022 of a potential sale. The College purchased 41 and 43, as well as 14 and 16, West Wheelock from Hanover residential developer, Jolin Kish ’88, Th ’91. As part of their agreement, Dartmouth sold Foley House, a residential living learning community, to Kish with the stipulation that they would rent the building from her for six years. 

With the $23.5 million purchase of 14, 16, 41, and 43 West Wheelock St., Dartmouth College became the largest landowner on West Wheelock St. Dartmouth already owned 25 and 27 West Wheelock, and over the course of the next two years plans to expand the small apartment buildings into large scale senior apartments with 285 beds in total. 

Beyond Housing

Outside of a robust effort to expand housing on (and slightly off) campus, the administration has been working tirelessly to improve the state of academic buildings. The Hopkins Center for the Arts has been under renovation since 2023, and the modernized space is set to debut in 2025. 

The front porch of the Collis Center is also getting a facelift. Though most would agree that, beyond a few loose bricks, there was nothing wrong with the iconic porch, the College plans to unveil an updated version this November.