West Virginia University – Evansdale Dining Hall

Built in the 1960s, West Virginia University’s Evansdale Hall was truly in need of a makeover. The Hall had an uninviting institutional look and feel. It was also in need of electrical updates. Through the years, some minor cosmetic upgrades had been done but WVU’s servery configuration consisted of fifty plus pieces of worn-out portable buffet units.

Food was cooked ahead in the kitchen and held in warmers. The old layout just wasn’t suited for batch cooking. More important, outmoded facilities weren’t helping WVU in the fierce competition for attracting students.

WVU needed a budget conscious renovation without change to infrastructure. They were looking for design ideas as well as equipment. And because of the time frame, WVU’s only recourse was to proceed with the project as a replacement of equipment rather than a full-scale renovation of the facility using an architect and project manager.

The RFP was released in late May and the contract was awarded to Partners by Design (PbD). The single source contract was for Design, Manufacturing, Delivery and Installation. Once the bid was awarded on June 8th, WVU and PbD hit the ground running.

The entire project, which included the millwork and equipment supplied by PbD, delivery, installation and infrastructure coordinated by the facilities team, came in under 50 percent of the projected budget. The millwork, countertops and equipment were actually built off site by PbD during the summer to expedite the project. The new serving lines were delivered to the campus on Monday, August 3rd and installation was substantially completed by Sunday, August 9th. WVU Facilities Services was instrumental in providing electrical connections for the new equipment. Due to the age of the facility, several electrical upgrades needed to be made.

The new servery allows WVU to cook to order many more items with the addition of induction cooking equipment at the “Healthy U” station and the new pasta station. WVU was also able to add an extra grill at the “Chef’s Express” to promote their cooking capacity for all three day parts. Finally, WVU added two deli lines that feature a rapid fire Panini oven to toast wraps and sandwiches.

From the date the bid was awarded to the day the now attractive WVU Evansdale Hall became operational was just 9 weeks!