A new meal plan option and “Dining Dollars,” a new form of payment at on-campus dining locations, will be offered this fall semester.
Housing and Dining Programs and Auxiliary Services are working with Bon Appétit to finalize details of the changes and will release more information later this week, according to Chris Moody, executive director of Housing and Dining.
Housing and Dining Programs is also preparing for the McDowell Hall renovation project, set to begin after residence halls close in May, according to Moody. Facilities Management will repaint the building and update parts of its infrastructure, including its electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. All carpeting, mattresses and lounge furniture will be replaced as well.
Moody said the renovation, which is scheduled to end before mid-August, is part of a 10-year cycle of updating residence hall interiors.
McDowell will also be part of the University’s effort to provide more study and social spaces for students on campus, such as the Perch-like space set to open in Leonard Hall this fall.
The University still plans to organize residence hall floors by class and will create specific spaces for first-year students in Anderson, Letts, Clark and Roper Halls.
Moody said it is too early to know the number of triples that will be assigned in the fall, as Housing and Dining needs to receive all freshmen and transfer housing requests this summer.
Tunnel and New Mexico Avenue tenants
AU is still working to find a new food vendor to occupy McDonald’s space in the tunnel when the lease expires in December, according to Director of Auxiliary Services Dave Courter.
“We’ve got serious expressions of interest from a number of potential tenants,” Courter said. “We have not proceeded to negotiations yet. We intend to include a number of provisions in support of the University’s sustainability commitment in the agreement, so we’re working on those provisions now.”
The University will require that the tenant meet the minimum sustainability standards of either the environmental organization Green Seal or the Green Restaurant Association, according to Courter.
“[AU President Neil Kerwin] made a commitment to sustainability,” Courter said. “We have to make sure that if people are renting space on this campus … we want to make sure they’re doing things that will be helping us to meet these goals.”
Progress is also being made on filling the New Mexico Ave. space, formerly occupied by the high-end grocery store Balducci’s, with new tenants. AU has already signed a lease with Antica Neapolitan Pizzeria, a full-service Italian restaurant, and is now working to secure two other businesses to fill the rest of the space.
“The other food tenant has signed a letter of intent and is in lease negotiations,” Courter said. “We can’t release the name until negotiations are completed, but I can say it’s a fresh food option with offerings such as sandwiches, wraps, salads, soup, et cetera.”
Courter said the third tenant was to be a yoga studio, but the prospective tenant has withdrawn. AU is now actively looking for another tenant.
The University anticipates a fall opening for Antica Neapolitan Pizzeria.
Panera Bread update
A Panera Bread restaurant is planning to open in July at 4501 Wisconsin Ave. NW, according to Panera Marketing Manager April Mock.
Jonathan Staal contributed to this story.
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