Update on Dining Hall Construction

As winter goes by, the Academy continues renovating its dining hall. Started in the summer of 2024, the project aims to increase the size of the main dining area and kitchen while modernizing the space. So far, all of the project’s concrete has been poured, and the metal framing for the North and South bubbles has been put into place. Currently, construction crews are working on the roofing, replacing the ceiling, erecting walls, and installing the A/C. Window installations are slated to begin later this month.

In its campaign surrounding the dining hall renovations, the Academy has presented it as a way to enhance and fully commit to its core tenants of inclusion and community by allowing all students to eat in the dining room during sit-down. As a campus hub, the dining hall will have additional amenities such as a print room.

When describing what led to the decision to undertake the renovation project, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Sheehy noted, “We always had buffet lines pushing out into the dining space [and] tables moving out in the lobby, moving back in... there were just really inefficiencies in the operation.”

Mr. Sheehy points out that the new renovations aim to combat those inefficiencies. New insulation, in addition to sets of triple-glazed windows, will reduce the loss of heat from inside, making the building more energy efficient. A solar array will also be added on the south slope of the hill. New, updated kitchen equipment will reduce the dining hall’s carbon footprint, as well as improving the overall cooking process.

The addition of a grind energy system—when compost is ground into a liquid inside of the dining hall and transported to an anaerobic digester—will improve upon the previous solid composting process. Furthermore, a larger designated servery space will serve walk-through meals. As Mr. Sheehy noted, this will end the practice of dining hall buffet lines spilling out into the main dining hall and the ensuing constant movement of chairs and tables.

The tables themselves will be new and 6 inches larger. They will be accompanied by new glasses, plates, trays, and silverware. As to the current versions being used in the dining hall, Mr. Sheehy said, “Our goal is to donate much of that to local organizations that can make use of it.”

The renovated dining hall will also come with changes to the waiting process. With the renovated dining hall will come a transition from side tables to waiting carts, a change previously tested on a small scale in the old dining hall. Mr. Sheehy described, “[these carts] will allow a first waiter as an example to go and load up their cart and come to their table and set their table as opposed to back and forth, back and forth....Everybody can serve because it’s not about can you carry the weight of the tray or whatever else, and so we’re really excited about [that].”

Construction is currently on track to finish in November, with the first meal anticipated to be served in January 2026, after which the temporary dining hall’s deconstruction will begin.