By Finn Hopkins Staff Writer
Sodexo will be funding a $2 million renovation plan for Alliot, which will take place over the winter and summer breaks.
According to the Vice President of Finance Rob Robinson, the seating area of Alliot will be renovated over winter break and will cost Sodexo approximately $650,000.
The “second phase, cur- rently planned for summer 2019, will update the serv- ery,” said Robinson. It will cost Sodexo approximately $1,350,000.
The General Manager of Alliot Brian Roper said that the renovations will include installing booths on the sides of the room, lounge chairs in the center of the room, carpet under the tables and vinyl tiles on the walkways, fresh white painted walls, and new light fixtures.
Jake Myer, the president of the Student Association, was excited when he found out the plans for the renova- tions. “I think it is definitely time to renovate Alliot and provide different styles of seating to students. People don’t use this space just to eat; they use it to study, to hangout between classes, and for lifelong friendships,” Myers said. “From what I’ve seen, the changes that are coming over break will serve that.”
Myer stated that the way a dining hall looks can have a substantial impact on how perspective students feel about a school, and the renovations will help with enrollment and perspective students.
Colin Gaunt ’19, believes the renovations will help bring the student population together. “While Alliot has been relatively fine in terms of having what it needs to function, there really isn’t anything that sticks out to me,” Gaunt said. He thinks that having more seating options and upgrading the area will make a big differ- ence in how students can get together around a meal.
Roper said that these renovations are just phase one. Over the summer, renovations are planned to take place in the serving area. All of the stations will be getting upgraded, and some will be moved around. Some of the center islands will also be taken out, and replaced with one big one. “We’re basically just giving the serving area an upgrade that it definitely needs,” Roper said.