Residence hall project at Brandeis reaches new heights

Brandeis Stories

Residence hall project at Brandeis reaches new heights

Topping off ceremony celebrates progress on the 631-bed project

By Steve Foskett
June 10, 2026 • Student Life

With less than a year to go until its planned completion, the five-story, 631-bed residence hall under construction at Brandeis is quickly taking shape.

Representatives from several firms working to build the structure - including the Vertex Companies, William Rawn Associates and Dimeo Construction - joined university officials at the site on a recent afternoon for a "topping off" ceremony for the building, which is slated to open in summer 2027.

Matthew Pelczar, a client executive with Dimeo, said the topping off ceremony is an ancient tradition commemorating the stage of a construction project that has reached its highest point. For Brandeis, the ceremony also represented the thousands of hours of planning, design and construction that have gone into it.

"It's a symbol of what can be accomplished when we work toward a common goal," Pelczar said at the ceremony.

By the end of June, the building will be weathertight, and drywall is scheduled to start going up in July. Elevators should be complete by September, with the power expected to come on a month later, according to Vertex, the owner's project manager overseeing construction.

The transformational residence hall project on the university's lower campus is the first part of a three-phased housing initiative at Brandeis aimed at enhancing the quality of student life through new construction, major renovations and the strategic removal of aging facilities.

Organized into 14 "neighborhoods" of around 50 students, the new hall will include indoor and outdoor spaces designed to foster connection and community. As part of a historic $25 million gift from trustee Karen Richards Sachs '83 and her husband David A. Sachs, the Dorothy Richard Campus Commons, known as "The Dot," will be integrated into the complex.

Planned project amenities also include:

• Air conditioning and full accessibility
• 14 community kitchens and lounges
• All restrooms are gender-neutral and single-occupancy
• An exercise room for students
• Outdoor bike shelters and sustainably landscaped terraces and gardens