Construction for the newest women’s dormitory is set to finish by mid-summer, with housing available for fall 2023. 

“This dorm under construction will be named the Marilyn J. Sohn Residence,” said Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé. 

The college broke ground in June 2022 for the $5.8 million dorm, Péwé said. 

According to Dean of Women Rebekah Dell, the dorm will house 56 women. There will be six single occupancy rooms, and 25 double occupancy rooms.

“What is unique about this particular building is that every bedroom has its own private bathroom,” Dell said. “There is going to be a designated fitness studio with fitness equipment. There will be four community lounges and a community kitchen. There’s also two designated study rooms, where it’s just tables and chairs for group study.”

There will be two main gathering spaces: a master living room with a fireplace at the entrance and a small lounge located at the back of the dorm. 

The Sohn Residence will help meet a demand for single-occupancy rooms that students request each year, Dell said. 

“We’ve found there is the space and demand for another woman’s residence facility on campus,” Dell said. “In particular, this will offer a little bit more privacy and an increase in single rooms, because we do have a number of requests for single bedrooms each year and those requests tend to exceed the number of singles that we have.”

The Sohn Residence intentionally imitates the size of New Dorm and Benzing because this size has been found to help build community, Dell said.

“It’s a really nice community space, which we think will be great for the residents,” Dell said. “We’re also always mindful that when we’re building something new, there’s a great student demand for more places to gather with your peers, more variety for study locations, more variety for friendship, and for community building,” Dell said. 

Design Collaborative, the architectural company that designed New Dorm, also designed the Sohn Residence. 

The interior design will be similar to New Dorm, with all grays, blues, and neutrals, Dell said.

“It’s definitely classic meets modern,” Dell said. “Feminine, but not girly.”

The Sohn residence will share an extended parking lot with New Dorm, Dell said.

With additional rooms available on campus, there is increased flexibility for rooming arrangements, Dell said.

Students will be able to request Sohn Residence with the regular housing request form at the end of March, according to Dell.

“We will fill it just like we would any other residence hall,” Dell said. “It’s based first on Hillsdale College credits, and then if there’s a tie, we use GPA as the tiebreaker for getting into the space. So anyone interested is welcome to apply in March because it’ll be open for business next fall.”

Freshman Jihye Kim lives in New Dorm and has been able to see the dorm’s construction. 

“It looks bigger and better than New Dorm,” Kim said. “I’m interested to see what kind of culture it will have.” 

Sophomore Sarah Hou is also a New Dorm resident.

“It’s what the college needs,” Hou said. “At this point, I’m probably not interested in living in it, but I guess it depends on when it’s open and ready to move in.”