With the fall semester coming to a close, the LSU Student Union is beginning to repair the Tiger Lair food court as renovations to the second and third floors near completion. Shirley Plakidas, Student Union director, said workers will begin renovations to the food court after students leave for winter break.Plakidas said the Cotillion Ballroom is scheduled for completion in January. Contractors are redoing the ceiling and adding sprinklers, new air vents, duct work and light fixtures, Plakidas said. The next task is to work on the wall paneling system by replacing some panels with aggregate or painted walls, she said. Plakidas said the administrative offices on the third floor are scheduled to be finished by January and should be occupied no later than February, depending on furniture delivery. Most of the third-floor meeting rooms — the Ouachita, Orleans and Catahoula rooms — are completed and available for use, Plakidas said. The Louisiana Room is still under construction, but it will be ready soon, she said. Plakidas said the second-floor west front lobby should be completed by January. She said the lobby will be used for temporary food service after completion while the Tiger Lair food court is renovated. “After that side is completed, the construction wall will move to the east side, and renovations for the Tiger Lair will begin,” she said. “Though it will be completed, it won’t look like a lounge until summer 2010, when we move the temporary food service out and the furniture in.” David Heidke, LSU Dining and Concessions director, said Dining Services and Union officials are still working on logistics, but the temporary food service will include Papa John’s Pizza, sandwiches, drink coolers and other grab-and-go items. He said the tables and chairs currently in front of the Tiger Lair will be moved to the west side lobby for the temporary food service. Plans for the renovated food court include a Quiznos, instead of Blimpie Subs, and a Panda Express, and the other food options will remain the same, Heidke said. Dining Services is discussing including a Mexican food line in place of the pasta line, he said. “Student feedback from the Mexican line has been good,” he said. “But no final decisions have been made.”The new food court will feature stand-alone counters and registers for each dining option, Plakidas said. The stand-alone counter concept will help traffic flow and allow Dining Services to close certain counters during slow periods to save money, she said. Plakidas said the Union Theater is scheduled for occupancy in May, which will allow events to resume, but it won’t be completed for a few more months. “The theater is coming along,” she said. “You can start to get a feel for what it’s going to look like.”The Memorial Oak Grove reopened earlier in the semester after being closed to be used as a construction staging ground.
Plakidas said the Union plans to landscape the Grove in the spring, making it the focal point of the new Live Oak Lounge. “Our goal is to make it a much nicer area, creating an enjoyable place for people who are walking through or stopping to converse,” she said.Plakidas said Union officials are in discussion with a landscape architect to plan the new design, which will include a sidewalk running from the southwest parking lot — currently used as a construction staging ground — and more lighting. In September, the Union celebrated the grand opening of the Live Oak Lounge, which opened during the summer. The grand opening featured the new name — Live Oak Lounge — as voted by the students. Plakidas said the renovations have not affected the Union’s services or daily operations despite increased noise and other construction-related challenges.”It’s been our commitment since the beginning to keep all of our services running until we absolutely have to close them,” she said.—-Contact Steve Powell at [email protected]