Two new residence halls on Kenyon’s historic South Campus have reached important construction milestones, with both buildings fully enclosed and ready for interior work in time for winter. However, an unfavorable economic climate for construction means that a third hall, which was to break ground in the summer of 2024, will be put on hold.
Construction costs are soaring in central Ohio, where the demand for building materials and skilled labor is booming due to large-scale projects like the Intel factories near Columbus. After careful consideration of the latest cost estimates, Kenyon’s Board of Trustees decided on a new phasing plan for the South Quad, which calls for completing the first two residence halls as scheduled and pausing the third until additional resources are identified.
Together with the recent renovation of Bexley Hall, the two new residence halls will add a total of 244 beds to campus in state-of-the-art arrangements designed to foster community and connection.
The College was able to embark on the South Quad project thanks to generous commitments from loyal donors, including an historic $100 million commitment, which when received in 2021 were expected to fund the initiative almost entirely. Costs have increased significantly over the past three years despite the scope of the project remaining unchanged.
“We remain committed to investing in a high-quality residential experience, which is an integral part of a Kenyon education,” President Julie Kornfeld said. “Kenyon has always been a careful steward of its resources, and this pause gives us time to adequately and responsibly fund this ongoing priority.”
The decision to pause work on the third residence hall will not impact construction of the two residence halls already taking shape on South Campus. Exterior and interior work currently are taking place on both buildings, and interior work is expected to continue unimpeded over the winter.
Based on current projections, the first building is expected to be ready to house students for the spring 2025 semester, followed by the second in time for fall 2025. Bushnell and Manning halls will remain open until work begins on the third.
Each ADA-compliant building — which will house about 100 students in apartment-style suites with their own kitchen — will be built to Duke University’s High Performance Building Framework for sustainability. There will be dedicated, fully accessible suites in each.
Bexley Hall, a former seminary that dates back to 1839, was updated to meet students’ contemporary needs while preserving historic architectural details. It welcomed its first student residents this month and uses a geothermal system for heating and cooling that contributes to the College’s efforts to eliminate carbon emissions on campus.
These residential projects contribute to the larger goal outlined in the campus master plan of creating a balance of housing opportunities between South Campus and areas north of Wiggin Street — with Peirce Hall and Chalmers Library as the relative centers of student life — to better immerse students in the academic core of campus. The increased bed capacity will come with amenities that allow for greater independence as students progress at Kenyon, as well as educational and social spaces that help create community and enhance academic outcomes.