Students living in Orchard and Shingle Cottage will likely have to move as the college consolidates housing in response to rising energy costs, Head of Student Life Steven Young told the Lens. These changes could begin as early as over the winter with changes poised to be implemented by the Spring 2027 term.
Young said the review into the off-campus housing was prompted by higher heating costs, which he tied to the war in Iran and wider economic conditions exacerbated by the Trump administration. The college is focusing on properties outside the main campus, including the Orchard houses and Shingle Cottage, and weighing how much they are used over winter break, Field Work Term, and – perhaps – the upcoming spring term.
The difference comes down to infrastructure. The wood chip boiler, Young said, is “the thing that makes us able to actually function,” heating nearly all of the main campus through the steam line. Buildings that aren’t on that line rely on other, costlier sources of heat. Shingle Cottage, in particular, is believed to be the least fuel-efficient building on campus, and, per Young, even filling it with students would still not cover its heating costs without doing something like raising tuition — “it’s already expensive to go here,” Young says, acknowledging that the path forward that has been outlined is the best and most fair set of plans for everyone.
A proposal with short-term and two-year options, including turning down heat to a bare minimum in the least efficient buildings and seeking grants to expand the steam system, is currently being drafted and discussed amongst staff in Student Life and Housing, Buildings and Grounds, and the broader Bennington administration. Nothing is final, but it appears likely that Orchard will – at the very least – change, and that students can expect that Shingle Cottage will close to students as early as next term. Young estimated that fewer than 20 students would be displaced.
There is, according to the college, enough room to absorb these students. “We have 150 empty beds,” Young said, though he acknowledged that fitting displaced students into comparable rooms, especially singles, may require adjustments. Young said Student Life plans to tell affected students in the coming weeks.
Regarding the preliminary rumors about these developments that emerged from the first discussions of the plans with some staff, including House Chairs, it should be noted that the Woo houses [Perkins, Paris-Borden, and Merck], the campus’ three newest houses and its only ADA-accessible ones, will not close, and neither will the 70s houses [Noyes, Sawtell, and Fels]. The Woo Houses are heated separately from the steam line made possible by the wood chip boiler. However, the early conversations surrounding these developments did look at the 70s houses in particular to consider their fuel-efficiency. While not baseless rumors, the college has ultimately decided to not go forward with any changes to these houses at this time.
What is to be done with these vacated spaces? Young said the options include returning to housing for faculty and a possible contract in which nursing students complete a capstone at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. That idea is at an early stage and would be separate from the college’s growing ties with the medical center, which include the campus health center.
Young framed the changes as part of a larger transition. “We’re in the growth pain area,” he said, “between our old system and the new one.”
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