Summer construction brings upgrades across Elon's campus

A busy and successful summer construction season at Elon University wasn’t without its obstacles from Mother Nature. While work crews are accustomed to contending with stray showers during May, June and July, an unprecedented period that saw three weeks of daily rain showers temporarily slowed work schedules.

Most projects are now back on track to open by the start of the fall semester.

Some of the highly-anticipated campus additions have less to do with brick and mortar and more to do with biscuits and burritos. From the start of the fall semester, Biscuitville and Topio’s will be located in the Winter Garden Café, which opened in Lakeside Dining Hall last year. Biscuitville is a locally owned restaurant specializing in Southern comfort food, while Topio’s is an Aramark-brand concept offering fresh-baked pizzas, salads, breadsticks and other Italian specialties. Freshii will continue to operate in the Winter Garden Café.

Those aren’t the only eatery enhancements coming to campus this fall. Qdoba Mexican Grill will be housed in Daniel Commons, which is located in the Danieley Center residential neighborhood. Menu items include 1.25-pound burritos, grilled quesadillas, nachos and a variety of tacos. Qdoba is on track, as originally planned, to open in late September or early October. (Read more about Biscuitville and Qdoba here.)

Meanwhile, Chick-fil-A is relocating to the first floor of McEwen Dining Hall due to a redesign of the Octagon area in Moseley Center. It is expected to reopen late in the fall semester.

The construction in Moseley Center will see the Octagon and the Hearth Lounge transform into a new open and inviting Student Center. According to Brad Moore, Elon’s director of planning, design and construction management, this area will include seven offices for student organizations, comfortable furnishings for socializing or studying, a “free expression wall,” a demonstration kitchen and a space for movie screenings. The four-month renovation project is set for completion in late September or early October.

Situated on Lake Mary Nell, the Global Neighborhood is ready for its first residents, as Global Houses 4 and 5 have been completed. More than 200 students will occupy these residence halls this fall. The neighborhood’s commons building and Houses 1, 2 and 3 remain on schedule and will be in various stages of construction until August 2014. The plaza just outside of Lakeside Dining Hall is nearing completion, as its construction was delayed slightly by rain. The plaza connects the West Lawn of Moseley with the Global Neighborhood and is suited for a variety of outdoor events, including both formal and informal debates.

The Global Neighborhood will offer a dynamic environment where learning and active engagement take place throughout the day and night for all Elon students. When completed next year, this innovative area will include a 50,000-square-foot commons building that houses the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center, classrooms, faculty offices and ample study rooms and large gathering spaces. (Read more about the Global Neighborhood here.)

The Martin Alumni Center, named for Chris ’78 P’13 and Nicolette Martin P’13, is located at the corner of Haggard and O’Kelly avenues near Belk Library. An extensive interior and exterior renovation of the building, which formerly held Elon’s Office of Financial Planning, is complete and includes a spacious living room, a covered patio and an outdoor terrace, as well as a catering kitchen and offices for alumni engagement staff. The center’s outdoor spaces will be lined with bricks honoring alumni who take part in Elon’s “Pave the Way” campaign. (Read more about the Martin Alumni Center here.)

The R.N. Ellington Center for Health and Wellness (located at 301 S. O’Kelly Avenue) is the university’s new home for Student Health Services, Counseling Services, Faculty/Staff Wellness and the Office of Student Health and Wellness. At 14,000 square feet, it is more than twice the size of the previous health center and faculty/staff wellness centers. The new student health facility building features nine medical exam rooms, a procedure room for treatments such as sutures or IV fluid injections, separate blood-drawing and allergy labs, a larger waiting area for students, a pharmacy and a separate office suite for Counseling Services. (Read more about the R.N. Ellington Center for Health and Wellness here.)

The former Ellington Building is now known as The Center for Leadership and houses the Office of Student Conduct, Student Leadership and the Auxiliary Services office. The university’s Purchasing Department now occupies the old Wellness Center at 412 W. Haggard Avenue, which allows the Accounting Office and Office of Human Resources to utilize increased space at 314 W. Haggard Avenue.

Koury Field House was renovated and expanded to offer upgraded offices, locker rooms and training facilities for the university’s soccer, lacrosse, baseball, cross-country and track and field teams.

Construction crews also renovated the Office of the Registrar in Alamance Building, hallways and stairwells in Virginia Hall, a locker room in the basement of McMichael Hall, an area on the first floor of Belk Library, the lobby and a gallery in Arts West, a portion of the second floor in Moseley Center, a conference room in Mooney Building and the Elon Television (ETV) equipment checkout office in the McEwen Communications Building.

The summer rain had its greatest impact on parking lot construction. Workers aimed to finish a lot and new sidewalks at the Francis Center by the end of June, but prolonged weather challenges pushed completion to mid-August. Similarly, a new parking lot at the old softball field that was slated to be done in August is now set for an early September finish.

Construction on an additional new parking lot on South Campus is due to begin this fall, while Scott Studios at Arts West is set for completion in 2014.