Dear AU Community,   

We are pleased to share that work will begin on two transformative construction projects in the Mary Graydon Center (MGC) beginning on December 20, after final exams and winter commencement. We will begin the first of two phases of construction for a complete renovation of the Terrace Dining Room (TDR), as well as the third floor of Mary Graydon Center, which will be home to our new Student Engagement Commons. Both of these renovations will deliver exciting improvements to our community and help us meet key student experience improvement objectives that are core to our work on the Student Thriving Complex.   

Although TDR has previously undergone several smaller renovations to improve finishes, equipment, and eatery concepts, the last time it was fully renovated was nearly 40 years ago. Under the current renovation plan, the space will be remade into a best-in-class dining facility, drawing inspiration from popular and successful food halls across the country. When the TDR project is complete in the fall 2024, our community can expect a dining hall that will feature highly visible kitchen and food preparation spaces, new dual entrances to improve traffic flow, separate eatery stations, multiple kinds of seating areas, dedicated allergen and special dietary needs stations, and new branding that will incorporate our AU colors and motifs.  

During the first phase of the TDR renovation work that begins in December and carries through the spring semester we will close part of the rear seating areas behind the rotisserie station to construct a new kitchen space that enables us to meet our community members' needs while improving the visibility of our kitchen areas. During this time, we expect seating availability to be reduced from 600 to about 500 seats. Our spring operations plan includes noise and air quality measures to ensure a continued positive student dining experience. We will also offer pop-up events like food trucks and special brunches at locations across campus during peak brunch and dinner times. These events will be accessible to our meal plan holders using swipes or dining dollars. We will also add more dining dollars to all eligible meal plans to accommodate greater retail venue flexibility.   

Due to the significant scope of the renovation work, TDR will be completely closed throughout the second phase of work, which will begin in early to mid-April 2024 and is expected to end in time for the fall 2024 semester. During this phase at the end of next semester, in addition to offering pop-up events and more dining dollars to meal plan holders accounts, we will set up dining hall service in a conditioned tent on campus. Service hours in the tent will be the same as our current TDR dining schedule and will feature most menu items. We will continue to work with our students who have special dietary needs to offer meals to go, as needed. For additional information about the TDR project, including renderings, and our spring semester plans here. This site will be updated throughout the spring with construction progress, event dates and times, and other important information.   

We have planned the work in MGC in a way that will minimize the impact on our community members, while also allowing for the time required to make the improvements. In addition to the planned demolition work for the renovation projects, certain asbestos-containing building components, such as pipe insulation, will be removed. This abatement work is expected to take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. from December 20, 2023, through January 20, 2024. All abatement work will occur within contained and controlled areas with all appropriate safety measures in place. Abatement and project monitoring work will be performed by Northstar, a highly qualified firm licensed to perform asbestos abatement in compliance with District of Columbia and Federal regulations.   

We invite the AU community to contact us at mealplans@american.edu with questions or comments about the TDR renovation work and at vpft@american.edu with questions or comments about the MGC third floor renovation work.     

Onward we go, together!    

Bronté Burleigh-Jones
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, and Treasurer

Jonathan McCann
Assistant Vice President, Planning and Project Management  

Michael Scher
Assistant Vice President, Campus Auxiliary Services and Airlie