Haines and Hobson Renovations Near Completion

The new common rooms developed as part of the CA Houses initiative of the Centennial Campaign for Concord Academy are already enlivening and improving campus life.

This year, construction has been steadily underway on the common room, campus residences, and facilities connecting the historic Haines and Hobson houses — work that will usher in remarkable changes in the residential landscape of West Campus. The completion of this project marks the final phase of CA Houses renovations, funded through the Centennial Campaign, which began with an addition to Bradford House, including the new Sylvia M. Mendenhall Common Room, and improvements to the common rooms in Wheeler, Phelps, and Admadjaja.

Encompassing a spacious common room designed for both gatherings and teaching, upgrades to facilities for students, and two new faculty apartments, this project will enhance the adult and student living and learning experience. The large windows, tall ceilings, and historically informed details in the addition are true to the Federal and Greek Revival architectural styles of these two homes, and to the human scale of all of CA’s boarding houses. The Haines-Hobson connector will open onto the Chapel lawn, providing not only an accessible entrance but also an anchor to the west side of campus as Concord Academy’s centennial approaches.

The largest single initiative of the Centennial Campaign to date, the CA Houses project was made possible entirely by philanthropy. The community of CA alumnae/i, parents, friends, and relatives contributed $12 million for the construction and another $1 million toward an endowment to maintain the houses. CA Houses is part of a continuum of Centennial Campaign investments in the campus and its people. This is a milestone along a course charted years ago, a critical step toward bolstering Concord Academy’s core strengths and values as the school nears its centennial in 2022.

Left: The construction crew installing the cupola atop the addition connecting Concord Academy’s Haines and Hobson residential houses. Right: The view from Haines-Hobson Commons will overlook the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel.

More From CA Magazine

A Century in the Making

Feb 10, 2023

Concord Academy is preparing for the most ambitious capital project in its 100-year history: a chance to unify its program and campus to meet the needs of students today, with flexibility to adapt as 21st-century education evolves. Anchored by a new Centennial Arts Center, a reconfigured West Campus will be the capstone to a campus vision decades in development.

Aiming Higher

Feb 9, 2023

Concord Academy’s Gender Equity Task Force, led by Courtney Fields-Thomas, Alex Holmes, and Grant Hightower, has been modeling systemic change in supporting students of all genders. The school’s approach is grounded in the knowledge that this community has always been gender-diverse, whether it appeared so or not, and in its founding vision of advancing gender equity.

Stepping Through

Feb 9, 2023

During the pandemic, many people discovered their habitual ways of working weren’t adding up to a meaningful life. That came as no surprise to three CA alums who had already chosen less stressful, more intentional paths. Attorney Robert Elwood ’78, publisher Julianne Lee ’86, and architect Mette Aamodt ’92 share how they recrafted their careers with purpose.