Apr 18, 2026 By Conner Goetz 3 min read

Washington & Jefferson College unveiled plans for a modern, four-story dormitory on Thursday that will house more than 200 students once completed in fall 2027.

More than 25 students, faculty and community members gathered at the Yost Auditorium on campus for a town hall event detailing the upcoming project.

The private liberal arts institution has seen a significant uptick in enrollment since a $50 million donation announced in late 2023 allowed a majority of local students to attend tuition-free.

The 2025 freshman class of 603 students was the largest in college history, bringing total enrollment above 1,300 combined undergraduate and graduate students.

According to Chief Financial Officer Joshua Guiser, college leadership quickly realized that existing campus housing does not have the capacity to support the increasing number of students who were interested in attending W&J.

Approximately 50 students currently reside in rooms rented at the George Washington Hotel in downtown Washington pending further housing availability on campus.

This led the school to contract Norristown-based Kimmel Architecture to design a modern, community-focused dorm building to satisfy this need.

Preliminary design renderings provided by Kimmel show a four-story, 51,500-square-foot building with room for approximately 220 students in double rooms.

The new dorm will include a communal kitchen area, lounge and study rooms, plus laundry and shared bathrooms on every floor.

The building will be located on campus in East Washington Borough off East Chestnut Street between the Delta Gamma house and the Marshall House dormitory.

The project will necessitate the demolition of two smaller college-owned residences on the parcel as a part of site preparation work.

Guiser said the design depicted in the rendering is not final, and may change throughout the remainder of the design process.

“We’re building the plane as we’re flying it,” he said.

Kimmel Senior Project Manager Edgar Smith said the new dorm presents an exciting opportunity for W&J to put into practice the student-centered design ideas that inform housing across campus.

The new dorm is intended to bring students together in the common area and student spaces across campus, not to “spend all their time in their rooms,” according to Guiser.

Both Guiser and Smith emphasized that the college is actively seeking public collaboration and input on the project, with transparency as a primary goal.

“We want to be good neighbors,” Guiser said.

Construction will begin in summer 2026 pending zoning approval from East Washington Borough, with more design renderings and cost estimates to be released throughout the process, he said.

“Investing in spaces where students live and learn is essential to supporting their success,” college President Elizabeth MacLeod Walls said in a statement. “This new residence hall will provide modern, comfortable spaces that encourage collaboration, community, and personal growth while strengthening the vibrant residential experience that is central to Washington & Jefferson College.”