The development around Alston and Bidgood Halls is scheduled to be finished in July and will culminate in opening a new dining center, according to officials in the University’s construction administration office.
“The project is to build a food service very similar in concept to Stewart’s Corner in Lloyd, featuring a Subway and a coffee venue,” said Tim Leopard, assistant vice president of construction administration and financial affairs.
The task was assigned to the Office of Construction Administration in June 2009 but met delays because of issues with the budget assigned for the project, and work was stalled.
“We originally bid the project to be completed in December, but we came in over budget,” Leopard said. “We were able to redesign the project to fit the budget, began work in December and it is now scheduled to be finished in July.”
Kristina Hopton-Jones, director of University Dining services, clarified the plans for the new site once construction is finished.
She confirmed that a double-sided Subway restaurant, like the one recently added to the Ferguson Center, is set to open at the new location as soon as possible, along with a cafe similar to those found in other buildings on campus.
“Everything that is currently in the Bidgood Bistro will be moved to the new location,” Hopton-Jones said. “Therefore coffee, grab-and-go items and snacks will still be available.”
Jones said the new location will feature only the Subway and the cafe, which are set to accept Dining Dollars, and no meal plan options were planned for the area.
“Our hope is that we will be able to be in the facility, stocked and trained to be open for the first day of class.” Hopton-Jones said. “Dining services will be available at this location as soon as construction is complete.”
Leopard said he was sorry for any disruption the various construction projects on campus have caused and asked for the toleration of students, faculty and visitors until the projects are completed.
He said in addition to the new dining services being on schedule and growing closer to completion, the fences that surround B.B. Comer and funnel students through the Crimson Promenade are scheduled to be removed soon.
“The construction around B.B. Comer is wrapping up relatively quickly,” Leopard said, “and we should be done next month. Those fences will come down, but we plan to start a landscaping phase around the building over the summer before the start of the new semester.
“I always say thank you for the patience and for working with us,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to avoid interruption of teaching and learning that you may not see, but we do everything we can to minimize our disruption.”
