Freddy Hernandez
Jamba Juice or Starbucks? Carl’s Jr. or Panda Express? Why not all of them?
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has recently put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for anyone interested in embarking on a new construction project that will feature a food court as well as a commissary for one of its bigger campuses-Pierce College.
It will be the first school in the district to debut this type of concept, though it’s already in place at larger four-year universities.
“It’s going to be a really exciting thing [the project],” said Larry Eisenberg, LACCD’s executive director of facilities planning and development.
Eisenberg said the food court would consist of major name-brand places though he gave no specifics as to which ones they might be.
He added that the district is still awaiting responses from developers to the RFP.
“It’s going to be names which people recognize and like,” he said.
According to the RFP, the proposed Pierce site is roughly 30,000 square feet and “will be located adjacent to and northwest of the existing… cafeteria building.”
“The food court is one part of it,” Eisenberg said.
“The other part is the dining-student center kind of piece.”
He described the future eating area as a “really nice and attractive kind of environment,” similar to the Freudian Sip’s, which has tables and places to sit both indoors and out along with umbrellas for shade as well as plants.
As it stands now, Eisenberg feels the colleges throughout the LACCD in general lack the kind of atmosphere that students like to be in.
“If we’re going to attract students and keep them on campus, then we need to provide an environment that’s attractive, interesting and exciting,” he said.”It’s something we need to create.”
In addition to the new food court and dining locale, there is also the commissary.
Because of its size, Pierce has been considering the idea of mobile food carts in order to accommodate students who have classes up in the music and art departments and don’t have time to walk all the way down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.
Ideally, the carts would travel to different spots on campus that are further away from the dining area, thus giving students more flexibility and variety when it comes to eating at school.
The commissary would provide adequate housing and proper maintenance for the carts when they’re not in use.
Before construction can begin however, there will be a mandatory pre-proposal meeting March 22 at 10 a.m. in Administrative Conference room 1016F located in the administration building, for those who wish to hear more about the venture.
According to Eisenberg, “anyone who’s interested should attend and learn more about the details of what we (LACCD) have in mind and gives them a chance to ask questions.”
He said the meeting helps to inform the developers so that the district can get a better bid.
Those who don’t attend the meeting will not be eligible to bid on the project.
The location for the new food court will be located adjacent to and northwest of the existing cafeteria. About 30,000 square feet in size, it will also feature a commissary for the storage and maintenance of food carts. (Patti Loomis)