New east servery planned
Servery to connect Lovett, Will Rice
Scott Norgaard
Issue date: 10/9/09 Section: News
Not long from now, residents of the north and west colleges might just have a reason to abandon their cinnamon rolls and head over to the south colleges for dinner.
A new east servery, which will connect Lovett College and Will Rice College, may be completed as early as December 2010. Proposed plans for the east servery, which would be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certified, would connect Will Rice and Lovett's commons and cost an estimated $12 million.
The plan for the servery was conceived by Michael Hopkins of Hopkins Architects, a firm based in London that also designed McMurtry College and Duncan College. Hopkins' plan for the distant future includes a new wing for Sid Richardson College and a new quad for Will Rice, as well as a new commons for Sid that will connect it to the east servery, Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor said.
However, these plans are still on the drawing board, and just a timeline has been constructed for the east servery. If the university has enough funds, demolition could occur next February, with construction starting in March. The final servery would be completed that December, Facilities, Engineering and Planning Project Manager Larry Vossler said.
"We have broad-brush details," Vossler said. "Right now, we are getting the finer details and specifics."
One of the major challenges facing this project is funding. Since the economic downturn, Taylor said Rice's finances have been hurt, stagnating its ability to plan for future expansion.
However, the east servery is one of the main priorities of the university's expansion, after the current reconstruction of Will Rice and Baker College, he said.
The final decision as to whether the proposed east servery plan will be confirmed will take place at the Board of Trustees meeting in December, when the plan must pass the board's inspection to be put into motion.
During construction, food will be transported to the Will Rice and Lovett Commons from other serveries across campus.
A new east servery, which will connect Lovett College and Will Rice College, may be completed as early as December 2010. Proposed plans for the east servery, which would be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certified, would connect Will Rice and Lovett's commons and cost an estimated $12 million.
The plan for the servery was conceived by Michael Hopkins of Hopkins Architects, a firm based in London that also designed McMurtry College and Duncan College. Hopkins' plan for the distant future includes a new wing for Sid Richardson College and a new quad for Will Rice, as well as a new commons for Sid that will connect it to the east servery, Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor said.
However, these plans are still on the drawing board, and just a timeline has been constructed for the east servery. If the university has enough funds, demolition could occur next February, with construction starting in March. The final servery would be completed that December, Facilities, Engineering and Planning Project Manager Larry Vossler said.
"We have broad-brush details," Vossler said. "Right now, we are getting the finer details and specifics."
One of the major challenges facing this project is funding. Since the economic downturn, Taylor said Rice's finances have been hurt, stagnating its ability to plan for future expansion.
However, the east servery is one of the main priorities of the university's expansion, after the current reconstruction of Will Rice and Baker College, he said.
The final decision as to whether the proposed east servery plan will be confirmed will take place at the Board of Trustees meeting in December, when the plan must pass the board's inspection to be put into motion.
During construction, food will be transported to the Will Rice and Lovett Commons from other serveries across campus.
Comments from unregistered users are subject to editor approval. Log in or register now to post a comment immediately. Alternatively, you may now even post a comment anonymously.
Be the first to comment on this story