WILLIAMSBURG, VA. — Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions, a developer and operator of college and university real estate and infrastructure projects, has released plans for on-campus student housing options at William & Mary, a public research university in Williamsburg. The developer formed a public-private partnership with the school to bring the $240 million project to fruition.
The new student housing accommodations will exceed 1,200 new beds. The general contractors, which includes Balfour Beatty’s buildings division and Richmond-based Kjellstrom+Lee, plan to break ground this month and open for student occupation in 2025.
The first phase will deliver 935 beds at West Woods on the west side of William & Mary that will feature modern living units and community spaces, as well as a 50,000-square-foot dining hall. The second phase will feature 269 beds in a new facility adjacent to the school’s Lemon and Hardy Halls along Jamestown Road.
The residence halls will be heated using geothermal heating and air conditioning in support of the school’s Climate Action Roadmap, which aims for a carbon-neutral campus by 2030. Lemon and Hardy Halls will also be transitioned to geothermal heating and cooling as part of the project.
The design-build team includes VDMO Architects and CMTA. Provident Resources Group is the project’s residential facility owner through an issuance of project-based, tax-exempt debt financing. Upon completion, William & Mary will manage the housing facilities.
The new on-campus housing facilities will support William & Mary’s Vision 2026 plan, which calls for the renovation or replacement of 80 percent of the school’s housing options over the course of 10 years.
Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions is a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty Investments, a financier and operator of assets ranging from infrastructure to housing and office spaces. Balfour Beatty Investments is a division of Balfour Beatty plc, a global infrastructure operator and investor based in London.
— John Nelson