For Hillside dorm students, the wait is nearly over. Dormers will soon be free of filing into a cramped portable building for meals, and will instead enjoy a revamped and refurbished dining hall.
The renovation of Hillside dining hall is on schedule and should be completed by the first day of classes in January, said Carol Roberts-Corb, the director of housing and residential life.
“There were no ‘hiccups,’” Roberts-Corb said. “Many kudos to [Cal State Long Beach] Design and Construction who managed the project.”
Roberts-Corb said construction began at the end of the spring 2014 semester.
“Right when the kids left [at the end of the semester], we put the fences up [around the dining hall],” Roberts-Corb said.
The group is putting together the finishing touches, and has already begun training 49er shop staff how to use all the equipment and how to maintain the building.
The dorm students have had to eat in a temporary portable building throughout the semester, located on the outskirts of Hillside, near parking lot 16.
The housing office thanked Hillside dormers for their patience during the construction with a “first look” dessert event on Tuesday night.
Ethan Bowe, a junior business management major living in Hillside, is looking forward to the renovation being completed, and is looking forward to eating Mongolian BBQ in the new dining facility.
“I’m pretty excited, it looks cool to be honest,” Bowe said. “[It will be] much less of a walk.”
Guadalupe Gaona, a junior psychology major, said he thinks this renovation will be really good and is looking forward to move back.
“This one gets too crowded, especially on the weekends,” Gaona said regarding the temporary dining space.
Xinyi Chen, a freshmen computer science major living in Hillside, said she is looking forward to moving out of the cramped temporary facility, and getting more food options in the completed dining hall.
“There’s less choice here, it’s too small,” Chen said.
The dining hall still awaits new furniture that will arrive later in December and early January, but will be fully furnished in time for the opening, Roberts-Corb said.