Observatory Hill Dining Hall soon will serve its last meal.
The Board of Visitors unanimously approved a resolution at its Friday meeting to demolish the dining hall and the Tree House and build a new dining facility in their place.
O-Hill, located at the corner of Alderman and McCormick Roads, serves as the primary dining facility for the first-year housing areas.
Leonard W. Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the planning process is in the early stages and he is unsure when O-Hill will be demolished and construction will begin, or when the new facility will be available for students.
O-Hill was scheduled to close last month for substantial renovations, but bids for the project were "considerably over budget," according to the Board resolution, and the plans were put aside.
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The University planned to spend $8.3 million on the renovation, but construction bids came in about $3 million over the projected budget. The new facility is expected to cost about $22 million.
"It's less expensive per square foot" to build a new dining facility than to attempt to renovate the existing structure, Sandridge said.
University Rector John P. Ackerly III said constructing the new building will be more efficient and "there might be enough space on the land site to build a new [first-year] dormitory."
During construction, first-year students in the Alderman Road area will have the option of eating at large trailers set up as temporary dining facilities on the corner of McCormick and Alderman Roads, across from the existing facility, as well as eating either at Newcomb or Runk dining halls.
These are the same alternatives officials originally devised to cope with students displaced by the now-abandoned renovation project.
The Office of the Dean of Students plans to relocate into these trailers after Fall Break to escape ongoing construction in Peabody Hall.
Sandridge said a new building will be "better than one that has been retrofitted and remodeled" and the end result will be "substantially better for service."
University Construction Services Manager Sack Johannesmeyer said he agrees that building a new structure is preferable to renovating the existing dining hall.
"It was a business decision based on what would provide the best dining facility for the money," Johannesmeyer said.
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