Phase I of construction on the South 40 will be completed with the opening of Umrath Hall and part of the new Wohl Center this fall. Left: Umrath Hall under construction this summer. Right: the architect’s rendered image of the finished building. (l: Matt Lanter | Student Life; r: Courtesy of WU Facilities)

With move-in day quickly approaching, Washington University administrators say construction of the long-awaited Umrath Hall and Wohl Center on the South 40 is going as planned.

“There are certain activities lagging, certain activities ahead of schedule, but we are overall on schedule,” said Steven Rackers, director of capital projects & records.

While masonry and landscaping are slightly behind schedule, some interior furnishing remains ahead.

Phase I of the construction will be done before fall move-in, according to Project Manager Nancy Marshall. This first phase includes the new Umrath and Wohl residential areas, a fitness center, certain stations at Bear’s Den, part of Bear Mart and a temporary dining facility.

Residential spaces will be ready for early move-in students, which includes freshman participants in pre-orientation programs, student advisors and resident advisors.

Phase II—which consists of the completion of the new Bear’s Den, an upgraded Bear Mart and College Hall, an assembly space for the residential colleges—will be done by August 2010.

Dean of Students Justin Carroll wrote in an e-mail that construction for College of Hall will start after the old Wohl is completely demolished. The University, he wrote, expects it to be done by fall 2010.

According to a description from the architecture firm Mackey Mitchell and Associates—Umrath and Wohl’s designers—the lower levels of Umrath and Wohl will feature student activity spaces to accommodate 3,000 residents and a new dining service facility.

“Modeled after European streetscapes, the site features an upper and lower plaza, which creates ‘outdoor rooms.’ Cascading stairs, ramps and a sloped garden lead from the adjacent parking garage to the lower plaza, creating a social heart for the residential neighborhood,” the firm’s description reads.

Due to the new Wohl’s LEED Silver certification, there will be other noticeable changes in Bear’s Den, such as china dishes instead of disposable ones to help reduce waste. The kitchen will use energy-efficient hoods to reduce energy use, and food wastes will be sent to a composter.

The loading dock near the dining facilities will be sheltered by a green roof that provides not only recreation space but also a vegetable and herbs garden for students to cultivate.

As for residential areas, Umrath will house 99 freshman students and three upperclassmen resident advisors. Sixty-eight of these students will live in four-person double suites joined together by a shared bathroom, 21 will live in triple units, and 10 will live in double units.

Three residential advisors and 125 upperclassmen will live in the new Wohl building. Of these, 108 will live in four-person single suites, six in three-person single suites, two in a two-person single suite and six in individual double rooms.

Wohl and Umrath’s future residents say they are looking forward to the changes that the new buildings will bring to the South 40.

“I think the new building will better the look of the South 40 since the construction will be over,” senior Brandy Randall, an RA on Umrath 4, wrote in an e-mail. “Once new Wohl is complete it will bring about new eating options as the cafeteria choices will be enhanced and the variety of food will increase.”

The excitement is enhanced by prospects of a new residential college—formed by Rubelmann Hall, Umrath and Wohl.

“Adding Wohl and the upperclassmen to a once freshmen-only residential college will diversify the types of programs we put on,” said senior Rebecca Shareff, an RA on Umrath 3. “With a new res-college comes our new mascot, the Red Umbrella Whales, and a huge source of pride and energy.”

“I don’t know where the rumors quite came from, but we do have another year on our lease, so I know that we’ll be here one more year,” Grossman said. “I certainly want to stay here longer than that.”

Many customers have questioned Subway employees about the franchise’s future on campus.

“They keep asking. Everybody asks. They’ve been asking since last year when the rumor first got started,” General Manager Sharon Smith said. “We wouldn’t enjoy it [if Subway left campus,] and I’m quite sure the students wouldn’t enjoy it either.”

Subway was located in the Mallinckrodt Food Court from 1995 until 2003, when it moved to its current location in the lower level of Umrath Hall.

“They thought we should have our own space, so that it would be more convenient and we could move a little faster,” Smith said. “This actually worked out best because over there we couldn’t sell chips or any of that. Since we came over here, we’ve been able to sell all different kinds of things.”

Since the move, Subway has been operating under a five-year lease with optional extensions. Grossman cites the apparent uncertainty over the extensions as one possible source of the rumors. The option to enact these extensions is in the hands of the University administration.

As the lease currently stands, Subway will be on campus through June 2010 and possibly longer if more extensions are added to the lease.

“It certainly is my intention to try to extend [the lease],” Grossman said. “It would certainly be my desire to stay here, and I think we must be satisfying a need.”

Subway currently serves approximately 1,000 people every weekday and nearly 700 on weekends, according to Grossman.

“I would be pretty upset if it closed,” junior Michael Shannon said. “I probably come once every three days.”

Although Grossman respects Bon Appétit’s efforts to provide students with multiple dining options, she believes that Subway gives students additional dining options.

“I think the [Bon Appétit] food service does an excellent job with many things,” she said.

Most students say they appreciate the diversity Subway brings to their campus dining options.

“Subway is a nice change of pace from everything else because Bon Appétit pretty much runs everything,” sophomore Jake Lewis said. “That’s why I come here—for the change of pace.”

Many also argue that Subway fills a void in the dining services provided by Bon Appétit.

“I definitely like Subway,” junior Greg Osborn said. “It’s nice to be able to get a sandwich somewhere because they don’t have that in the DUC. It’s pretty quick, and it’s pretty-good-quality fast food.”

Others enjoy Subway because they see it as a healthy alternative.

“Faced with the literal assault of fried and fatty foods that permeate Bear’s Den, depriving health-conscious students of a healthy alternative is nothing short of torture and deprivation,” freshman Meg Conley said.