School is back in session at Bowling Green State University, but something is different. Kohl Hall, a residence hall and learning community center on campus, is closed for renovations this academic year.  

Kohl Hall has been closed since May for renovations and is on track to reopen fall 2025. Renovations to the hall include adding and updating A/C ventilation, updating communal bathrooms and removing the learning community centers.  

“It’s two separate projects that are running in Kohl at the same time. The scope for the renovation is to completely gut the ground floor of Kohl Hall. Where there used to be a lot of learning communities and space that was not residential, we’ve gutted that whole space to… add an additional 40 beds and rooms. Other areas are being completely dedicated to student space,” said Kristi Peiffer, Associate Director of Campus Construction.  

Peiffer works alongside her team to oversee the operations in Kohl Hall and make sure they are completed on track for fall 2025.  

“The entire building is getting all new paint and carpeting. We also decided to do something new: pod-style restrooms. These are not suites or personal bathrooms… they are a bank of individual restrooms in it. This is so students are able to go in and have a private experience… even though they are still communal restrooms,” Peiffer said.

Along with the renovations of the dorm rooms, bathrooms and the addition of air-conditioning, Kohl Hall is changing even more, with the retraction of classrooms and learning communities.  

“This is how we were able to get an additional 40 beds. By eliminating a couple of the classrooms, we were able to really revise the community space on the ground floor of Kohl,” Peiffer said. “It is going to be a little different, but it’s actually nice. Before you had students from outside… coming in for classes. Now, we are hoping there will be more of a community for the actual residents.”

Students had some qualms about the living conditions in Kohl Hall prior to renovations. Maddie Smith, a second year student, had issues with Kohl Hall before these upgrades.

“The location of Kohl Hall is actually really great, but I would say that was the only real perk about living there. When you live on the third floor and…it feels like 100 degrees and you do not have air conditioning, it’s not ideal. That along with the communal bathroom aspect of the building, it just was not fun,” Smith said.  

Because this sizable residence hall on Bowling Green State University’s campus is nonoperational and won’t open until next fall, it was very important to the campus construction and renovation team to make sure this renovation didn’t get in the way of the student and faculty experience here.  

“It is a lot of work to get done. Typically, when we work with residential halls and close them down, we either plan to take them offline for a summer or for an entire academic year. We try really hard to make sure that our work can be done and fit within those durations,” Peiffer said. “For the Kohl Hall HVAC work, it actually required running new underground, chilled water lines to the building. This is kind of an intensive process, and we were able to complete this work last summer while renovating MacDonald Hall. So, then this summer and academic year we are able to focus on just the renovations of Kohl Hall.” 

Peiffer said not only was this renovation important to improving current student and faculty experience but it was also important for this upgrade to interest potential incoming students.  

“Any time that we are able to showcase the exciting things that we are doing… to enhance student experience here really resonates with our students and those potential future students. Having a nice, fresh space that feels inviting and new… that is an experience for college students,” Peiffer saidi. “Kids might go to other schools and not have that same environment, so that speaks volumes about BGSU and their student engagement. This is just one of the many pieces that add to the great experience that BGSU provides for its students.” 

To learn more about the history of Kohl Hall or any of the residence halls on Bowling Green State University’s campus, please visit the BGSU residence life page.