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Cal U. $28.2M project nears completion

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Workers put the finishing touches on a new rotunda attached to the Natali Student Center at California University of Pennsylvania.

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The interior of a new rotunda nears completion at the Natali Student Center on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania.

CALIFORNIA – A new rotunda creates a grand entrance to the renovated student union at California University of Pennsylvania.

The interior of the addition to Natali Student Center features a sweeping stairway to an expanded dining hall in a $28.2 million project designed to ease overcrowding in the building.

The rotunda will serve as a large gathering space and be named Heritage Lounge at the building constructed in the 1970s and remodeled in 1992 and 2000.

Construction began in the spring of 2013 under a project that was scaled back at a time when interim Cal U. President Geraldine Jones took office and the university was facing a deficit of $12 million.

While the deficit was eliminated, the student union project is $1.8 million under budget when compared to construction cost estimates released in 2013.

“The project is right on track,” Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl said Tuesday.

It’s the first time since the 1960s that Cal U.’s dining services facilities were renovated, said Larry Sebek, a vice president of student affairs at the university.

Prior to the changes, the dining hall was served by a snack bar kitchen in the student union, one that will be replaced with a state-of-the-art, full-service operation, Sebek said.

The students are going to be able to see their food made to order, he said.

“Students don’t want to eat in a cafeteria where they are going down a line and getting mystery meat slapped on their plates,” Sebek said.

Student Affairs offices will relocate to the second floor this summer. The women’s center, commuter services, the career and professional development center and the internship center also will occupy new space in Natali this summer, Kindl said.

The Gold Rush dining area will open in the fall, she said.

“It is entirely student focused,” Kindl said. “There are many conference rooms where students can hold club meetings.”

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