After three semesters of renovation, the Colvard Student Union has opened for business again. Since the Union reopened on Jan. 7, students, faculty and staff have been exploring the more than $22 million in renovations to the building, which first opened in 1964.The opening of the Union was pushed back due to supply and construction delays, Colvard Student Union director Eddie Keith said. Only the students can decide if the delay was worth it, he said.
“We kind of felt like our staff and the students were like little kids realizing after Christmas that it’s going to be a long time until Christmas rolls around again … and this package was worth waiting for,” Keith said.
The new building has met and exceeded many expectations of those who experience it, he said.
“I think it’s everything we hoped it would be, and it’s been fun for us to see people come in and jaws drop and eyes bug out,” Keith said.
“That’s the same reaction that we have. We literally have to pinch ourselves.”
The interiors and exterior of the Union have been redesigned and rebuilt using only the frame of the original building. During the renovations students and faculty anxiously watched as truckloads of material were moved to and from the building and peeked curiously through the green fencing to steal a glimpse of the emerging structure.
When the Union first opened 44 years ago, it served about 6,800 students. Keith said the new union was designed with small meeting spaces and patios spread throughout the building, in contrast to the single large lobby of the older design.
“We wanted the Union to continue to be a place for students to just hang out informally, and we wanted that space to be warm and inviting but have a mixture of space,” Keith said. “There are a lot of small lobby spaces and small quiet lounges.”
Meeting rooms and spaces for student organizations were also created, one of many considerations put into the project, which was designed over a span of 12 years, said Bill Broyles assistant vice president for student affairs.
“We’ve got a facility that can accommodate large meetings or small ones, very high-scale or run-of-the-mill student gatherings,” Broyles said. “With different sizes of rooms there’s something for everybody.”
The Union also houses the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the Center for Student Involvement, which contains workspaces for student organizations.
It will eventually include Union Station Hair Stylists, a Copy Center and ATMs.
The first floor the Union features the Gaddis Hunt Commons, a food court which offers food selections including Sbarro, which offers pizza and other Italian food, and Chick-fil-A, which returns to the Union from it’s temporary location beside the State Fountain Bakery.
The Commons also contains three new selections that are brands unique to Aramark, MSU’s dining service provider. Bleecker Street Deli and Bistro, offering sandwiches using artisan breads, Zoca Southwestern Grill, featuring tacos and other Tex-Mex selections and Miso Noodle and Sushi Bar, offering sushi and other Asian cuisine. All food selections will accept MoneyMate as well as the Flex Dollars meal plan.
The dining options in the commons are the result of surveys to see what would be popular in the new Union, said executive director of dining services Michael Cervantes. Some of the food options will include dining options for vegetarian and vegan diners.
“We had an opportunity to survey students,” Cervantes said. “We asked questions and picked students’ brains to see really what they want on a campus. We want to make sure that we look at all avenues and see what students are looking for.”
In addition to the commons eateries, the first floor of the Union also features a full service Starbucks, which is authorized to sell all Starbucks merchandise, as well as a convenience store and the Dawg House lounge with new entertainment capabilities.
The Union is now a place for students who until now were spread throughout the campus, like sophomore aerospace engineering major Kyle Kerby, who said he’s enjoying the new seating areas.
“It’s a union, a place to go sit down between classes,” he said. “If I want I can sit [in the Commons] and see and hear people, or I can go to the second floor and find a place where it’s quiet.”
The new Union will take its place as the campus living room and carry MSU into the future, Broyles said.
“Clearly what you’ll see now is a great place for students to meet between classes,” he said. “We’ve got all sorts of venues for students for meetings, entertainment and whatever students may need.