Construction Set to Begin on House Communities Structures

Construction begins this month on one of two temporary house centers that will provide extended program space for Dartmouth’s new house communities as the College continues to implement President Phil Hanlon’s vision for a new undergraduate residential system.

A temporary house center will be constructed near the Gile and Hitchcock residence halls. (Photo courtesy of Campus Services division)

The temporary building, a living room of sorts, will be located on the south side of Gile and Hitchcock residence halls and, beginning in September, will be a place for activities in School House (made up of Massachusetts Row and Hitchcock halls), and Allen House (Gile, Streeter, and Lord halls).

Dean of the College Rebecca Biron, who is overseeing the house communities planning process, says she’s pleased to see this work begin.

“The temporary structures will provide wonderful additional residential program space for students in these new house communities when they open in September,” she says. “We are grateful for the work that our Campus Services division is doing to make this possible on such a short timetable, while the College continues to assess longer-term residential facility needs.”

Each of the six house communities, as well as the Living Learning communities in the McLaughlin Cluster, has an affiliated house professor who will reside in a campus residence.

Work on the second temporary house center, to be built on the south tennis court next to Alumni Gym, is scheduled to begin in March. That facility will serve as extended social space for South House (Topliff, New Hampshire, and the Lodge halls) and North Park House (Ripley, Woodward, and Smith halls).

Read more:

College Unveils Six House Communities to Open Next Fall

Details of the New House Communities

House Professors Named to Residential Communities

Moving Dartmouth Forward Work Underway

Moving Dartmouth Forward Website

The most immediate effect of the construction work will come soon, when the contractor sets up a construction site fence across the north side of the Massachusetts Row parking lot, says Lisa Hogarty, vice president for campus services. This will remove approximately 50 of the 150 parking spaces and close the two northern entrances to Mass Row parking area until summer, says Hogarty. After construction is completed, about 20 of the original spaces will be back in use.

“We recognize this will have an impact on faculty and staff who park in this vicinity, and we will do everything possible to minimize confusion over the parking changes,” she says.

Work has also begun on construction and renovation of campus residences for the house professors.

Two of the new residences already exist and will be renovated. Construction began this month on four new faculty homes. All are scheduled to be completed during the summer so that the house professors are able to move into the homes and host student events when the 2016 academic year begins.

Campus Services will provide additional information in a campus-wide email on parking changes around the construction site near Gile and Hitchcock halls. The division will provide regular web updates on this and other house communities projects as the work progresses.