The inside of the Hub may seem a little less crowded.
To keep students from aimlessly searching for a table with Chick-fil-A in hand or sitting on the floor with an Einstein’s bagel, the exterior of the Hub is getting a facelift with some additional seating.
Chandler Rozear, project manager of architecture/engineering with the UF Physical Plant Division, said the $350,000 renovation to the Hub will be better for traffic flow and offer easier access into the Hub.
The redesigned plaza area will offer additional covered seating, a handicap ramp, tables and a covered bus shelter in front of the Chick-fil-A entrance.
The area will no longer have the pavement or cement tables there previously. In addition to the changes, the plaza will have brick wall seating around each oak tree.
“This should make for very pleasant seating,” he said. “It will be very nice.”
Rozear said the initial plan to improve the area started about a year ago, and workers broke ground May 6. The project should be completed by the middle of Summer B, he said.
Rozear said one of the interesting things about this project is that students will be able to watch the progress daily from inside Chick-fil-A.
Angelica Polley, a 19-year-old chemical engineering sophomore at UF, said she has been one of those people who has had to eat lunch on the floor in the Hub because there was nowhere to sit.
Having additional space outside will be a good thing, she said.
“Even though there is a ton of seating inside, it still gets packed,” she said.
Eric Salaices agrees.
Seating outside is limited, and having extra space will be useful, said the 21-year-old UF biology senior.
Salaices said he was glad that the construction was being done during the summer so that students would be able to enjoy the seating during the cooler months.
Because the Hub was the university bookstore until 2003, UF spokesman Steve Orlando said changes are being made to accommodate students in such a centrally located area.
“The function of that building has changed over time,” he said. “And the need for seating areas have changed as well.”
Regardless of the Florida heat, Orlando said he thinks students will make good use of the space.
“It’s become a really popular gathering spot for students, mainly because of all the dining options in that vicinity,” he said. “And having outside seating gives students the option of enjoying the outdoors and fresh air.”
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
