A summer of transformation: Major construction projects set to reshape campus

Summer break may indicate a pause for students, but for campus officials, the countdown from May graduation to August move-in offers a crucial window to take on major renovations and infrastructure projects.

The re-opening of Bachelor Hall; the destruction of Williams Hall; the construction of two new recreation spaces and renovations to Emerson, Morris and Tappan Hall are just a few of the major projects the university plans to complete by the end of this summer.

Bachelor Hall, after two years of renovation, is expected to come back online for students at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. The English, History, Philosophy and Media, Journalism and Film departments will move into their new classrooms while students are off campus for the summer.

“It’s going to be like our humanities hub on campus,” Vice President of Facility Planning and Operations Cody Powell said. “Also in Bachelor Hall will be the Ohio Writing Project and The Humanities Center that are actively being moved into that space.”

The expected opening of Bachelor Hall will coincide with the demolition of Williams Hall and several neighboring buildings. In addition to Williams Hall, the campus is expected to lose Hanna House, Joyner House and Wells Hall.

“We’ll also be removing the pavement drive that goes south of the Veterans Memorial, so we’ll be losing some parking there, but it’s intended to create more of a vista and an open quadrangle for the students,” Powell said.

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For sophomore journalism and individualized studies major Georgia Lokey, this transition is bittersweet.

“I am excited to move into Bachelor Hall, but I do love the history of Williams Hall,” Lokey said. “There is going to be a bit of Williams Hall homeliness that I will miss.”

On the south end of campus, the university is at the tail end of its long-range housing master plan. This summer will be the second of four summers dedicated to renovating Emerson, Morris and Tappan Hall.

“Rather than taking them offline for a year, like we did our other residence halls, we don’t have enough swing space to be able to house the students while they’re offline for a year, so we’ve broken the work into four summers,” Powell said. “A fair amount of work will be occurring in those residence halls from immediately after move out, until the students move in again in August.”

While the majority of this summer’s construction projects are expected to be complete by the start of the next school year, there is one project that is just beginning. This summer marks the beginning of Cook Field’s transformation into a new multipurpose arena.

“I don’t know that I can recall a time when over one summer, construction will so substantially alter how the campus looks and feels,” professor of geography and Chair of the Campus Planning Committee David Prytherch said. “The arena is going to be a fundamental change in how we see and experience the campus.”

While students will no longer be able to access Cook Field, the university is constructing two new recreation spaces for students over the summer. One recreation space is being constructed in front of Millet Hall on the north end of campus, while the other, much larger, field will be constructed next to the Chestnut Field House on the south side of campus. These recreational spaces will have artificial turf, much like the north portion of Cook Field.

“These little changes around campus are going to add up,” Prytherch said. “This is going to be a big summer of things starting to go up and things coming … together these changes are going to be very noticeable to people.”

terlessk@miamioh.edu