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Big plans for Williams Center renovations, summer '08
The removal of the four-foot walls around the dining area of the Williams Center is the first step in a series of renovations to the building planned this summer.
Chuck Notaro, executive director of the Faculty Student Association (FSA), said that the walk-in serving area in the Williams Center will be almost doubled and there will be an addition
of a separate espresso bar and a "feature food" stand serving specialty foods and drinks. Cafe G, the banquet hall currently
located on the first floor of the Williams Center, will be moved down to the food court level where the FSA and Signature Cafe offices are currently located.
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Darcie Hennard/ Photo Editor |
The current dining area will be expanded and refurnished
with a variety of different soft and hard-chair seating arrangements as well as a higher ceiling similar to the one in Cranston Marche. The wall dividing the current dining area and the vacantarea that was once the campus bookstore will be knocked down and there will be a raised, carpeted
TV lounge area.
Notaro said the project will cost roughly $3 million. Since FSA generates its own revenue and has a budget separate from Fredonia, no state money will go into the project.
While the FSA portion of the project is exclusive to the downstairs
food court project, Fredonia has additional plans to renovate
the interior of the Williams Center. According to Michael Lemieux, director of Campus Life, the renovations will give a brighter look to the interior which he said now looks dark and dingy. Plans for summer include a new and brighter interior paint job, a new skylight and a new floor.
Lemieux said there are also plans to remove the glass-block wall from the front of the Campus Grind and bring the Signature Cafe coffee bar into the area where the arcade games are now.
With these changes, the little-
used arcade area will become a serving area and The Spot will be more exclusive to student programs, so that performances, readings and debates can go on uninterrupted by squealing blenders.
"In my opinion this isn't the nicest building to walk into," said Lemieux. "It's very dark and it isn't very user-friendly."
The plans to renovate the Campus Grind are still being completed
and may not take place this summer, Lemieux said. There are also plans to expand the Campus Life and Student Association offices.
-Reporting done by Peter Viglietta, news editor
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Blast from the past
Chuck Notaro, executive director
of FSA, said that the rumor that there used to be a bar on campus is 100 percent true.
Notaro said that in the 1970s, before the drinking age changed, there was a bar called "The Sundowner" (or "The Downer") in the basement of the Williams Center in the vacant area where the bookstore used to be.
"It was crazy," Notaro said. "We used to have 'Beer Blast' every Thursday night. It was just a whole different era."
Notaro said that on the weekends
the Williams Center used to sell kegs of beer to students who were of age. This all changed in the late 70s when the minimum drinking age changed to 21.
"No, you couldn't use your meal plan to buy beer," Notaro said.
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