Dr. Linda Koch, vice president for student affairs at Lock Haven University, prepares to cut the ribbon to officially re-open Bentley Dining Hall. Standing with Koch are other LHU officials and representatives from general contractor Lobar Inc., electrical contractor Turnkey Construction, plumbing and HVAC contractor Silvertip Inc., architect STV Inc. and food service provider ARAMARK.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Lock Haven University held a grand re-opening luncheon on Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 for the university’s renovated Bentley Dining Hall.

The luncheon was for the $7.5 million project’s major contractors, architects, food service providers and involved university officials. Representatives from general contractor Lobar Inc., electrical contractor Turnkey Construction, plumbing and HVAC contractor Silvertip Inc., architect STV Inc. and food service provider ARAMARK were all on hand to celebrate the project’s completion. A number of vendors also celebrated the event by giving away items and offering different types of food to Bentley customers.

“The grand re-opening gave us a chance to celebrate and highlight the changes this project has given to students, faculty and staff,” said Dr. Linda Koch, vice president for student affairs.

To make room for those changes, an addition of 21,550 square feet was added to the structure, which now has a total of 73,854 square feet. New conference rooms were built, including a room that seats around 35 and a larger space with a capacity of 91 that can be divided into two rooms of equal size.

“The three meeting rooms will provide conference-style service to students, faculty and staff and to the public,” Koch said.

For students, the additional space has allowed for more seating.

“We added 604 seats overall,” Koch said. “There were 125 seats in the retail area and now there are 250. We had about 650 seats in the top floor, and we now have over 900.”

Other renovations include: a reconstructed loading dock to permit easier access to the building, an elevator that visits all floors and roof and air conditioning upgrades. A fully-licensed Starbucks store has recently opened its doors and joins vendors Quiznos and Freshen’s Smoothie Company.

Koch said that students have responded favorably.

“Students have enjoyed the new facility, especially the different seating options,” Koch said. “Starbucks has been a great addition and something the campus has embraced.”

The building, erected in 1965, began offering dining services when there were around 1,500 students enrolled at LHU, Koch said. Today, that figure is close to 5,000.

“These renovations will last us at least 20 to 30 years into the future,” Koch said.