Faculty and students should be prepared for construction when they return to campus after winter break.

Construction of two new residence halls for first-year students and a dining hall are expected to start in January.

The construction is expected to affect traffic patterns and pedestrian access to campus, said Kathy Cavins-Tull, vice chancellor of student affairs.

“When we break ground, we will make paths for students to walk because everything will be fenced off,” Cavins-Tull said.

The new buildings will be located behind the Neeley School of Business and are expected to be completed during the 2024-25 academic year. Crews have already started working on the utility lines in the area.

The new dorms will ease the housing crunch for first-year and sophomore students as TCU retains its two-year on-campus living requirement.

Chancellor Victor Boschini said there are no plans to ease that requirement.

“I can show you 40 academic studies that show the longer you live on campus, the better experience you have, the better grades you get, everything is better,” Boschini said. “Opening these two new residence halls will help us because we will have a bunch more space that we don’t have now.”