With an ongoing process of changes and renovations at the University, the time has come for a new Dining Center to service McDonald and Offenhauer residence halls.

While the project is still in the planning stages, Dave Maley, director of operations for Dining Services, said the renovations are long overdue.

McDonald Dining Center is probably the oldest, traditional old-style cafeteria on campus and definitely needs to be updated in appearance, how it operates, and the kind of venues it has, Maley said.

The University is currently in the process of conducting a feasibility study to determine what is needed for the new dining center, he said.

The University Offices of Design and Construction, Residence Life and Dining Services are working together with Collaborated Inc. – a Toledo architecture firm – and with Maryland kitchen and food service company David Porter and Associates to determine the logistics and costs of the renovation.

Dining Services administrative staff have also visited other universities to look at the positive and negative points of their dining centers.

A major emphasis of the feasibility study is to find out what students really want from their dining centers, Maley said.

He said that the University has learned through surveys and focus groups that students want more space, “more open sunlight like the Union,” as well as “more cooking on-site” and a connected restaurant.

One of the main goals for the new dining center is to eliminate the three line cafeteria-style layout, and to incorporate “fresher foods, more variety, and a different style of preparations,” Maley said.

Even though the Union’s open atmosphere will be worked into the new dining center’s plans, Maley said one of Dining Services’ primary objectives is to not “duplicate the Union … We want it to be different, to provide alternative types of things.”

While the elimination of the cafeteria style is what most students want, not everyone is happy about the new plans for renovations.

Andrew Wyant, a sophomore and two-year resident of McDonald, said the high school cafeteria style makes the current dining center unique on campus.

He would rather see the University invest more money into the food selection by adding an additional food line, and also would like to see a second bussing station.

But freshman McDonald residents Katie Denish and Alison Kukla are excited about the renovation plans.

Kukla and Denish said they expect students will like having a new dining hall on the northwest end of campus, especially one that is brighter, more open and won’t require Flexfunds.

However, they both hope the new dining center will have longer hours than the current one, which closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends.

Additional plans for the new dining center will include a convenience store like the popular GT Express, a restaurant, at least five classrooms and offices for Residence Life and Dining Services, according to Maley. A pizza fire oven and a drive-through or curb-side service are other ideas being discussed to make the new dining center different and innovative, Maley said.

The University hopes to have the renovations completed by 2007, but Maley said a more complete timeline will be known when the feasibility study is finished.

In order to “come in with a brand new look,” BGSU plans to gut the current building and “start from scratch like with the Union and Founders,” Maley said.

Once the feasibility study is completed, the University’s board of trustees will approve a plan for construction.The project will then be partly funded by a bond from the state, Maley said.

The renovation process will likely close the dining center for one year, which may inconvenience Offenhauer and McDonald residents. But during renovations, the GT Express Convenience store will move to the first floor of Offenhauer West.

Niki Messmore, junior, said she hopes that nearby dining centers will extend their hours while McDonald’s dining center is closed so that students “will not have to eat Bagel Bites and Ben and Jerry’s for dinner.”

Over time, the University’s master plan calls for other renovations on the northwest end of campus to include a new science building and possibly changing the route of North College Drive to curve back to Thurstin Avenue, Maley said.