Ithaca College’s Terrace Dining Hall celebrated its 50th birthday this year with a facelift, including renovations to the infrastructure, floor space and interior decor.
Renovations began a week after the 2016 commencement ceremony and continued throughout the summer. The dining hall opened Aug. 20, complete with new furniture, accent lighting, new ceilings and new signage over stations. Jeffrey Scott, Sodexo area general manager, said the dining hall’s heating and air conditioning system was also updated to improve comfort for customers.
One issue addressed during the renovation was the removal of asbestos from the air conditioning, which was found during the renovations and resulted in the ceiling’s having to be redone. Tim Carey, associate vice president for facilities, said the asbestos was removed easily.
“A nearby renovation to the HVAC system required some minor and expected asbestos abatement, which was coordinated by Facilities, Environmental Health and Safety and a company that specializes in abatement,” Carey said.
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Terraces will also host late–night dining hall hours for the first time, beginning Aug. 24 from 8 p.m. until midnight. There will not be any new food stations, but there will be updates to the menu, as there are every year.
Scott said the dining hall needed to be refreshed to update the design and upgrade the facilities.
“Frankly, we definitely feel it is important to create a great atmosphere and to certainly continue to remodel facilities on an ongoing basis,” Scott said.
Carey said the budget for the renovations was around $1 million. He said they haven’t received exact numbers on how much the project cost, but he expects the price to be within the budget.
Melanie Malcomson, a sophomore and Terraces resident, said she is happy to see money being put into something students frequently use. She said she likes the idea of Late Night being added to Terraces because she believes the space will serve students more efficiently.
“More space will be nice, especially when it comes to waiting in line,” Malcomson said. “In Towers, it’s really hard to maneuver around everyone in line.”
Scott said there are also plans for a renovation to the Campus Center Dining Hall next summer. He said the renovations would be similar to Terraces — he plans to improve the atmosphere and the entering and exiting system.
“I expect to see a lot of wows,” Scott said. “A lot of smiles from customers.”
Assistant News Editor Grace Elletson contributed reporting
