$13.3 Million Renovation at Lebanon Valley College

ANNVILLE, Pa. — Lebanon Valley College (LVC) in Annville, Pa., opened the doors of its Mund College Center, a $13.3 million renovation of the college community center featuring dining halls, an underground dance club, theatre, study lounge, college bookstore, career services and student activities office.

Jim Whildin from Spillman Farmer Architects, Bethlehem, PA, was the lead architect on the project. Spillman Farmer Architects has completed more than 200 projects on more than 50 campuses, including many LEED buildings.

The construction manager for the project was High Construction Company, Lancaster, PA. Singer Equipment Company, Elverson, PA, furnished the kitchen and serving area fixtures and equipment.

The new center has increased dining hall sales, serving 115 more meals per day, a six percent increase from the previous year. The new amenities have also boosted student participation on campus—where it’s increased 70 percent, an all-time high for the college.

The dining hall was gutted and the kitchen and 500-seat dining areas were rebuilt in the newly renovated hall that includes eight dining stations. Metz Culinary Management helped in the design of the dining hall and sought to incorporate fresh and healthy food for the student diners.

“Well-prepared and healthy food options are essential for our students’ culinary experience and quality of life,” said Bill Allman, general manager at Metz Culinary Management. “The new and healthier entrees at Mund Dining Hall, combined with the inherent freshness of our chefs preparing meals out in the open and in front of the students, have elevated satisfaction in the food options at LVC. The numbers have backed that up so far.”

According to Spillman Farmer, the new building required a holistic design approach as it addressed several critical building components including façade treatment, building additions and complete interior renovations.

The new entry to Mund College Center features a transparent glass wall system that brings light and a fresh clean look to the building.

The work in the dining hall required different components in order to meet the needs of the school and student body. The design team took into account the dining area as well as space needed for the kitchen and staff.

According to the design team, an active scatter system servery that is structured like a food court venue replaced the outdated linear serving line. Additional space for sitting and dining was made possible by relocating the existing kitchen to an addition that houses a new commercial-grade kitchen facility. Booths and traditional table seating is available in the new dining hall, as well as a student lounge area.

The building is designed with environmentally safe, no VOC materials and the contractor closed off all ductwork during construction to keep it free from pollution and all off-gasing materials because sealants were stored in highly ventilated parts of the building or on the outside. The goal was a successful design as well as the creation of a healthy building environment.

Spillman Farmer encountered some challenges while designing the building for the 2,000 LVC students. The project addressed the college’s need for uninterrupted daily operations while simultaneously executing a complete interior renovation and building addition, and it was able to successfully execute the design by having a precise and thoughtful phasing plan.

“Through planning and clean communication with our client, subcontractors and contractor, the project is currently on budget and ahead of schedule,” said Michael Black, associate at Spillman Farmer.