The opening of the new Talley Student Center’s dining area has been a moving target since the start of the summer.
As recently as May 30, the building’s dining venues were supposed to be open early this semester, according to Kevin MacNaughton, associate vice chancellor of facilities at N.C. State.
After an extremely rainy summer, however, it appeared it would not open until early in 2014.
Now, those involved with the project say the actual opening date will likely fall somewhere in between those two targets.
According to Jennifer Gilmore, director of marketing and communications for Campus Enterprises, the main roadblock in opening Talley for business is attaining an agreement between the contractor and the owner of the facility allowing the owner to get into the dining area and get the dining area ready for students.
“Once we have occupancy, then we can get in and bring in the furniture and bring in the staff and start firing up our equipment to make sure it works, make sure all the televisions work, and basically start getting ready to open,” Gilmore said.
Once Campus Enterprises is able to begin that work, Gilmore said, a more concrete opening date will be available.
The University is looking at opening the Pavilion Food Court and the Talley Market some time this fall, Gilmore said. The official announcement should be coming from the Student Centers Board of Directors soon.
While Campus Enterprises manages Talley Student Center Facilities Management is coordinating the construction project. The two departments are working together to ensure that Phase I of construction will be finished by the early spring of 2014. As construction shifts gears towards the second phase, Cameron Smith, director of Capital Projects, said he was optimistic that construction will continue on schedule.
According to the project schedule posted on the Campus Enterprises website, Phase I of the process has focused primarily on constructing an addition to Talley Student Center. The second phase consists of renovating the preexisting Student Center and any other preparations necessary for the grand opening, which is currently scheduled for the Spring of 2015.
Though a project of this magnitude can be quite a lengthy process, Smith said the new Talley Student Center will be a major asset to have on campus.
“[Talley] will really be, I think, a focal point for Central Campus activities, and it will be an iconic building for main campus as well,” Smith said. The final product, he said, will serve as a great place for student organizations to meet, a dining venue with many new options and, in general, a cool place for students to hang out.
However temporarily shutting down one of the main dining locations has had quite an effect on the other food options on campus, Gilmore said.
“[Construction] has definitely driven more traffic to other locations. I know that the Atrium and the nearby dining halls have seen a spike in activity,” Gilmore said.
To help deal with this increase in traffic, Campus Enterprises has opened several food trailers around campus. The main trailer, in the Brickyard marked with a big block S, serves wraps and other quick meals to students, who can pay with their meal plan. Chick-fil-A will also be available at this location soon. Other private food vendors have set up outside of Reynolds Coliseum, but they do not accept meal plans as a method of payment.
