WashU will begin demolition this summer to make way for the new South 40 dorms, which will be ready to welcome students in the 2028-2029 academic year. Of the 600 beds added through this project, 300 will be immediately allocated to sophomores, meaning all sophomore and first-year students will live on the South 40.

The remaining 300 beds for first-year students are not expected to be filled to capacity right away and instead serve as a buffer space for the future “redo” of the traditional South 40 dorms, said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez. According to Gonzalez, no time frame has been announced for this initiative. For the time being, the new first-year dorms are expected to accommodate a small rise in student population from the new public health major.

Due to increased first-year and sophomore presence on the South 40, the University is also set to expand dining services on the South 40, which may include new dining locations in the residential area, according to Gonzalez. 

The construction project will be financed through additional housing fees from the new buildings, which will be priced at South 40 modern housing rates, and auxiliary spaces from the project that the University can rent out. 

“We have really pushed the cost to not be exorbitant and that every space in there is going to be both in the realm of excellence that we’ve always provided our students, but also not excessive,” Gonzalez said. “I think what we’ve learned with construction costs is that we really need to look and be mindful of what we want versus what we need for our students.”

To Gonzalez, the new construction is not just a necessity, with 95% of students requesting to live on the South 40, but also allows sophomores more time to engage with the South 40 community.

“There’s still a developmental factor as a sophomore in terms of still needing that sense of community,” Gonzalez said. “Having the two classes here allows you all to not rush the process of even more adulting.”

Editor’s note: Tanvi Gorre contributed to the reporting of this article.