College to Renovate Huden

Huden Dining Hall is a frequent source of irritation for students, as anyone who has gone in there during lunchtime knows. You just want to find a place to sit and eat without waiting 10 minutes to find an open table, yet sometimes it’s tough.

In addition to the seating issues, students talk about the food and even the building itself.

“[Huden needs] more seating, maybe some outdoor area, or a second floor to the building,” said Castleton student Ethan Garhartt.

Student Scott Bova said that while he isn’t sure the dining hall needs more seating, he too said it certainly should be renovated to be more visually appealing.

Luckily for students, Castleton President Dave Wolk said help is likely on the way.

Plans to renovate Huden are based on “the need to improve aesthetics of current and future space and to provide a very enjoyable dining experience for our students and guests,” Wolk said in an interview last week.

The renovation is also designated to deal with the issue of seating at breakfast, he said. Open seats in Fireside Café and the upper seating area are both decreasing.

“I’d think will have to address that problem too,” said Wolk.

Regarding complaints about food, as previously reported in The Spartan, the college is in the process of determining who will provide food to students in the future. Aramark currently has the food service contract.

“At the same time we’re looking to renovate Huden, we’re going through a bidding process for a new dining services contract,” said Wolk.

Students told of plans to upgrade dining at Huden seemed psyched.

“I think [renovating Huden] is a great idea, because as it is, Huden is overcrowded a good percentage of the time I’m there, especially lunch time,” said Castleton student Joe Seeger.

Wolk said college officials don’t have a new design yet, but that specifications are being created to be sent to interested venders. 

Like all other building projects on campus, the renovation process of Huden will take time, and there is no actual timeline for when it will start, Wolk said.

“The hope is that if we could do the work next summer, we’d have a share of it ready for the fall,” said Wolk.

 

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