Updates on Woodland Hall Opening

Woodland Hall, Oberlin’s new 402-bed residence hall located near the athletics complex, will welcome its first students this month. 

While the building is ready for occupancy, visitors will notice remaining work still being performed on the exterior. Crews are installing siding—a combination of brick and fiber cement panels—on the hall’s south- and east-facing façades.

In addition, Woodland’s new 226-space parking lot has been poured and striped, and landscaping of the grounds will be completed in the coming weeks, with additional landscaping planned for early fall to take advantage of optimal planting conditions.

Installation of siding on the building’s north and west façades, as well as the west-facing courtyard, will continue until mid-October. All active construction areas will be clearly fenced off during this time, and work around the building will be confined to limited hours to minimize disruption to students. 

All windows facing active construction areas will be covered with privacy film. This film, which allows in natural light but obscures visibility from outside, will be removed when construction is completed.

The work that remains is the result of an unexpected delay incurred in spring, when it was determined that the waterproof layer applied to the building prior to bricklaying did not meet Oberlin’s standards. Out of an abundance of caution, this work was redone at the contractor’s expense. The impact on the building’s timetable for opening was minimized through the allocation of additional crews and expanded construction hours during summer. The occupancy permit for Woodland Hall was secured in June.

Residents of Woodland Hall will receive an email with instructions on move-in guidelines. Questions pertaining to move-in can be directed to reslife@oberlin.edu.

Learn more about Woodland Hall on the Residence Life website, and stay tuned for details on grand-opening festivities.