Students assigned to Building 4 at the University of Michigan's new Wolverine Village complex may not have a permanent room when fall semester begins.

Michigan Housing Director Rick Gibson emailed affected residents warning that construction on Building 4 is running behind schedule, The Michigan Daily reported Monday, Aug. 10. If the work isn't finished in time, those students would be temporarily placed in other Michigan Housing residence halls.

"Building 4, where you have been assigned, will be the final building completed," Gibson wrote. "While we are anticipating all construction and necessary inspections to be complete in time for your move-in, there is a possibility that residents assigned to Building 4 may need to be temporarily assigned to another Michigan Housing residence hall."

Students in the other four Wolverine Village buildings are not affected.

What's at stake

Wolverine Village, located on East Hoover Avenue near the Intramural Sports Building, is UM's first major housing project in more than a decade. Announced in 2022, the five-building complex with a dining hall was designed to house 2,300 students and ease pressure from years of enrollment growth outpacing available beds.

The university's undergraduate student-to-bed ratio dropped from 40% in 2004 to 28%, according to UM's Architecture, Engineering and Construction office. No undergraduate housing was built between 1967 and 2010, when North Quad opened with 450 beds. Wolverine Village is projected to raise the ratio to roughly 34%.

The need is acute. UM set a record fall 2025 enrollment of 53,488 students, a 3% undergraduate increase from 2024, according to The Michigan Daily. A Michigan Housing webinar this spring described Wolverine Village as housing "a very heavy first-year student population."

In February, university spokesperson Kay Jarvis said in a construction update to The Michigan Daily that the project remained on track for a fall 2026 opening. That confidence appears shaken for at least one building.

What's next

Michigan Housing has not announced a final decision on whether Building 4 residents will need temporary placement. Gibson's email advised affected students to monitor their university email for updates. The university has not disclosed how many students are assigned to Building 4 specifically, or which residence halls would serve as temporary housing.

No timeline for a decision has been given.