Contractor selected for construction of new residence hall, dining facility
Feb. 20, 2015 — Kansas State University and the Department of Housing and Dining Services have accepted a construction bid for the university's newest residence hall and dining center.
Crossland Construction Co. Inc. of Columbus, Kan., will begin construction this month as general contractor of the $60 million Wefald Hall. Subcontractors are Gold Mechanical, Springfield, Missouri, for the mechanical and pluming construction; P1 Group Inc., Lawrence, for the electrical; and Johnson Lancaster, Clearwater, Florida, for the food service equipment.
Plans for the new facility were announced in 2013 following approval from the Kansas Board of Regents. The residential portion of the project includes construction of 129,000 square feet of living space to include 540 beds on eight floors. Options will primarily consist of two-student standard rooms with multiple single-use bathrooms on each floor. Rooms will be clustered together with dedicated study space in common areas to allow for smaller communities with fewer students per resident assistant.
Sixty thousand square feet will be added to update Kramer Dining Center, which will serve made-from-scratch meals to 1,850 students. The dining center will include additional retail space and multipurpose areas for classroom and conference use, plus a demonstration kitchen/learning lab for students taking hospitality management and dietetics classes.
"Kansas State University has been a leader in teaching food service management since the early 1900s, and this new facility will provide a state-of-the-art laboratory that is unparalleled for continuing this rich partnership," said Mary Molt, associate director of Housing and Dining Services. "The multipurpose design of the teaching platform also strengthens programming opportunities. We're looking forward to providing our residents such experiences as cultural food exchanges, classes to enhance cooking skills, visiting chef programs and more."
Wefald Hall will become part of the department's Kramer Community on the west side of campus, located along Claflin Road between Denison and Sunset avenues. Renovations to the community's original residence halls, Marlatt and Goodnow, will follow construction of Wefald. Once complete, the three buildings will be connected by enclosed bridges. The current Kramer Dining Center will continue to serve residents in the community until the new facility opens, and all current housing will remain open during the construction with as little disruption as possible.
Housing and Dining Services' first new facility in nearly 50 years, Wefald Hall will be the focus of a modern community in which the campus living, learning and dining experiences are combined and enhanced through state-of-the-art and student life-focused design. This innovative residential center will embrace the timeless traditions of the university and serve as a safe, inviting and inclusive environment that enables students to reach their full potential as scholars. The project will be funded with housing fees.
"As Kansas State University continues to grow toward 2025 with a goal of being a Top 50 public research university, Wefald Hall will helps us create the living/learning environment that will shape our students," said Derek Jackson, director of Housing and Dining Services. "The 2025 thematic goal for undergraduate educational experience, to build a connected, diverse, empowered, engaged, participatory culture of learning and excellence that promotes undergraduate student success and prepares students for their professional, community, social and personal lives — will come alive within Wefald Hall as it does in our other campus residence halls and apartments.
Housing and Dining Services is committed to keeping the university and its surrounding community informed throughout the construction process, and will issue frequent updates through the department website, local news outlets, and other written and electronic communications.