Students heading to the Memorial Union for Mediterranean food and sub sandwiches may be out of luck for the rest of the semester.
Several facilities in the MU, including the Corner Market, Mediterranean Cafe and Sub Connection, are being renovated to prepare for increased traffic from the new mandatory meal plan.
Renovation began Wednesday and will cost $4.8 million.
The area will be transformed into an all-you-care-to-eat facility, said Mike Matthies, manager of facilities and contracts at the MU. The restaurants that were in that spot will not reopen.
"[It] will serve to support meal plan programs primarily for students on center campus and who live in Center Complex," he said.
The area will be under construction for the rest of the spring semester and throughout the summer, Matthies said.
Preparation for the project began the weekend of March 10, the day after the mandatory meal plan was approved by the Arizona Board of Regents. The renovations might not have begun had the meal plan not been approved, Matthies said.
"[The renovations were] contingent upon the meal plan's passing," he said. "But it is not funded by the meal plan."
The money came from a discretionary fund. ABOR approved use of the funds at their December 2005 meeting.
Similar renovations will begin in the Palo Verde Main and Manzanita residence halls in the summer, Matthies said.
All renovations would be ready for the fall semester, he added.
Construction began in the MU because there is less activity there during the spring semester, Matthies said.
"Less and less students use the facilities," he said. "There is a downturn in business after Spring Break as students look toward finals and the summer."
But tourism management freshman Erika Steigerwald said she thinks the construction is going to be a hassle for students.
"It is going to be really annoying," she said. "[The MU] is busy enough as it is."
Steigerwald said she eats in the MU every day, often at the Mediterranean Cafe.
"Now my choices are limited," she said.
Religious studies graduate student Daniela Mueller said she thinks the renovations are a good idea.
"If it's useful [overall] for the University, then I don't mind the traffic," she said.
Matthies said he thinks students will be excited about the renovations in the fall.
"All three facilities will have new [menus] and new venues," he said. "They will be substantially upgraded."
Microbiology graduate student Christoph Trautner said a change could be a good thing.
"The problem is Taco Bell and Burger King -- it's not bad, but it's always the same," he said. "To have something new available would be a good change."
Though Steigerwald does not like the traffic created by construction of the project, she said an all-you-care-to-eat facility is a good idea.
The new facility would allow students with meal plans to eat at a central location, she said.
"It's a pain to go to north and south campus," she added. "In the MU is much more convenient."
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
