Blakeley Hall, previously a dorm for graduate students in The Fletcher School, has reopened for the 2025–26 academic year as a sophomore dorm after a three-year renovation that was completed this summer.
To accommodate undergraduate students, the building — originally constructed in 1927 — was completely gutted internally and rebuilt to include a combination of double and single rooms with square footage comparable to that of other sophomore dorms like Harleston Hall and Haskell Hall, according to Christopher Hogan, the program manager for construction at the Medford/Somerville campus.
In addition to common spaces, study rooms and a kitchenette, Blakeley offers unique features not found in many other dorms on campus, including single-stalled gender-neutral bathrooms, air conditioning, an elevator and, for now at least, free laundry.
Perry Doherty, associate director of residential operations, explained in a statement to the Daily that the remodeling of Blakeley was part of a broader housing strategy at Tufts to accommodate larger class sizes.
“Our housing strategy is to maximize the number of undergraduate student beds to enable us to house as many students on campus as possible,” Doherty wrote. “Allocating Blakeley to sophomore housing meant that we were able to adjust the allocations of other spaces on campus to ultimately increase the number of spaces available to juniors and seniors.”
Administrators also considered the increased student need for certain amenities when planning Blakeley’s renovation to create a dorm that better meets the needs of residents.
“Residential Life examined data from student housing accommodations from the StAAR Center and the Office of Equal Opportunity when considering different designs for Blakeley,” Doherty wrote. “More and more students need and prefer access to an elevator, single use bathrooms, single rooms, and air conditioning so it was very important the renovation included those features.”
Hogan told the Daily that the dorm includes several accessible features in compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as sustainability considerations.
“The building was constructed with a keen eye towards sustainability and accessibility,” he wrote. “From a sustainability perspective, the building includes a number of meaningful energy saving improvements, including insulation and new, triple-glazed windows. The building uses electricity and steam from the campus Central Energy Plant, which provides more efficient energy than would be provided by a utility or onsite equipment.”
Students living in Blakeley said the new features make a significant difference.
Maria Zarela Requena, a sophomore living in a double on the first floor of Blakeley, highlighted some of her favorite amenities, such as the study rooms and free laundry machines.
“I like the study rooms, they look amazing,” Requena said. “I also like that we have AC. … It looks really beautiful and it’s new.”
Requena also expressed relief that she was able to move in, since the university had reportedly told incoming residents they might be housed in a hotel if renovations were not completed by the start of the fall semester.
She said, however, that the dorm — which is situated between Fletcher Field and Houston Hall — is not conveniently located near other sophomore dorms.
“This is a little bit controversial. … I don’t like [Blakeley’s location] as much because we’re in a corner of the campus,” she said.
Haydn Reilly Hogan, a sophomore living in a Blakeley double, said the elevator was particularly helpful during move-in due to her ACL injury.
“The elevator was a lifesaver,” she said. “[It] was super helpful to get all our stuff up to our rooms during move-in.”
Reilly Hogan also pointed to the study rooms and air conditioning as significant improvements compared to her dorm last year.
“Last year [my dorm] only had the common room and I think a lot of dorms are like that. They just have one general space where people can go,” they said. “The study rooms are so nice and they’re quiet.”
While generally satisfied with the dorm, Reilly Hogan pointed out a few minor issues with the dorm.
“The single-use bathrooms get basically flooded sometimes,” she said. “The stove in the kitchen is super complicated to work. You have to get an app. … I just can’t figure it out.”
Despite these issues, Reilly Hogan praised the dorm’s strong sense of community and said they would recommend it to a rising sophomore.
“There’s a lot of people in Blakeley who are super chill and really nice, and you can just say hi to anyone when they’re in the hall,” she said.
