As new students and returning students alike arrived on campus, they more than likely found Loop Road scattered with traffic cones, fenced in construction zones, dug up sidewalks and caution tape. 

Brandeis has begun to tackle a few new construction projects this year, and amongst these projects is a new dormitory.

In April 2025, Brandeis announced the launch of a construction project for a “state of the art” residence hall. The new five-story dormitory is set to include 630 beds, air conditioning and full accessibility.

The construction for the new residence hall commenced in June 2025 in the South Residence Lot, also known as X-Lot. Prior to the demolition, the parking lot serviced commuter students and faculty.

According to an announcement made by the Office of Parking and Traffic in June, in addition to the elimination of South Residence Lot, approximately 100 parking spaces were eliminated in the adjoining Theater Lot.

Although the project is aimed at improving student life, it is currently inconveniencing students as the already limited parking situation has shrunk once again. 

Due to fears sparked by the housing lottery and the lack of guaranteed housing, many upperclassmen students made the decision to move off campus. With a higher number of students commuting to campus with vehicles and the demolition of an entire parking lot, the parking issue on campus is amplified.

The class of 2026 was the largest admitted class in Brandeis history with a reported 1,007 students. Since then, the University has seen increased concern from students about available housing options. As of last year, The Justice reported that upperclassmen students were fleeing campus living in wake of those concerns.

In August, the University released a series of changes in parking designation. In wake of losing South Residence Lot to the new building, the University also released plans to eliminate parking pass availability to any student that does not have senior status.

Parking for senior students is designated by resident student parking and commuter student parking. Resident students are able to park in the Charles River and Foster Residence Lots with the purchase of a residential permit. Commuter students are designated to Tower Lot, North Quad Lot, Athletics Lot, MBTA/Brandeis Roberts Lot, and Theater Lot (T-Lot).

Senior status, as described by the University Registrar, includes any student with at least 88 credits. Students who are not technically designated as a senior by credits but are still set to graduate in May 2026 are technically unable to purchase a parking permit.

Prior to the changes in parking pass designations, the permits were available to purchase for junior students as well as sophomore students who were chosen through a lottery process. Now, neither of these groups are technically allowed to park on campus. Students with special circumstances who are not seniors are still able to purchase parking permits if necessary with special permission from a doctor and Student Accessibility Services.

Seniors arriving on campus quickly became acquainted with issues created by the change in parking designations. 

Students who purchased parking permits online prior to arriving on campus were unable to pick up the passes until many of the issues were resolved.

Even students with the correct credit standing faced problems when purchasing a pass. Riley French ’26 was unable to purchase a resident parking permit despite being listed as a senior by the University Registrar.

French told The Justice in a Sept. 7 interview that, “I’m a senior and [the parking office] insisted I was a junior, refusing to give me a pass.” She continued, “I went to the office three times, emailed and called twice before I talked to an actual person who told me she couldn’t do anything.”

The issue became particularly evident among students who were a part of the mid-year class. Allison Orr ’26, received a similar response from the University when she heard that mid-year students were having trouble purchasing permits. “I emailed the parking office twice and no one ever responded,” she said.

Fortunately, other Brandeis offices have been more helpful with solving the issue. “My academic advisor was able to help me figure out the situation,” said Orr. “I had to email the registrar's office to move my graduation date so they could categorize me as a senior in order to be eligible.”

Brandeis announced that parking permits were available for pickup on Sept. 4 in the Office of Administration and Finance's InBrief newsletter. 

There was little communication about the status of the parking permits until the announcement was made. For most, information was being spread by word of mouth.

Despite the trouble seniors were running into based on their matriculation date, some juniors were able to bypass the status and purchase a permit. “I sent an email to the parking office and the Student Union when I heard about the change,” said Miles Laker ’27 in a Sept. 7 interview with The Justice.

Last year, Laker had to get a doctor's note in order to purchase a parking pass because he was only a sophomore.

After finding out that seniors were having problems purchasing permits he said, “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get one this year.” He continued, “When I actually went into the parking office they just had me fill out a form and I was able to get one.”

Although the purchasing issue has seemingly been fixed, students are running into other problems created by the construction. With half of the remaining Theater Lot blocked off as part of the site, students living in Ziv Quad are being forced to park nearly half a mile away even despite their proximity to the adjoining lot. 

Jaiden van Bork ’26, a Ziv resident, is particularly unhappy with the decision to nix the lot for available student parking. She told The Justice on Sept. 8, “Why am I paying $200 to park in a remote part of campus that I don’t live on? It’s completely out of the way and if I park anywhere closer I run the risk of getting a ticket.”

Van Bork explained that the parking is inconvenient, and the noise level of the construction is constant and “quite oppressive.”

According to the construction site update posted by the University in June, the project zone is in Phase 1. As construction is set to continue through the summer of 2027, it is unclear whether or not the site will expand as the project continues to grow. 

The Brandeis Parking office has not responded to The Justice’s request to comment at this time.