Burge Market Place receiving renovations over the summer
Over the summer, Burge Market Place will begin being renovated as part of a plan to update the interior of the dining area and food stations.
Students walk past at Burge Residence Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.
January 25, 2019
University of Iowa students can expect Burge Marketplace to have an entirely new look in the next year, with renovations to update the interior and seating areas beginning this summer.
Before Catlett Marketplace opened, the UI only had two such dining options for students, the other being in Hillcrest. Because Burge was open almost year-round, University Dining Director Jill Irvin said, that has made it difficult to renovate the space. But now, Catlett can stay open over the summer.
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The Marketplace project hasn’t been bid on yet, so there isn’t a budget for it, Irvin said in an email to The Daily Iowan. UI Housing & Dining, whose budget is self-sustaining, dedicates portions of its budget to renovations and updates each year.
The project will brighten up the Marketplace by tearing out the black and green tile and resurfacing the area, Burge Marketplace operations manager Matt Werth said. The front entrance will no longer have the green tile, and the Marketplace will get a new logo, he said.
“Especially for new students, they won’t know any different, but for students returning, they might even think they’re in the wrong building,” Werth said.
The ceilings will have LED fixtures, and the seating area next to the allergen station will be completely changed, Werth said. The seating area will have a new color theme, and dining officials plan to let more light into the dining area to make it feel more open.
Burge doesn’t have the river view that Hillcrest and Catlett do, but officials still want Burge to have the same open feeling, he said.
Burge hasn’t really had a significant finish update in about 15 years, and it’s just time.
— Jill Irvin
The amount of time it will take to complete the project will depend on enrollment, Werth said. Because UI Housing & Dining is a self-sustaining entity, the budget will increase or decrease based on enrollment.
Part of the renovation plan is to remove the beverage machines on the right side of the Marketplace, because they aren’t used much, and turn that into a seating area, Irvin said.
Adding more seating in Burge will give students more space, and it won’t be as hard to try to find a seat, Burge resident Payal Vedanayagam said. There will be places to sit as soon as students get their food.
The renovations might make the Marketplace look more aesthetically pleasing, Vedanayagam said, and it’ll give students more space to sit so they don’t have to stand around looking for a seat.
Last summer, the salad bar in Burge was redone, and the allergy-free station was added and finished in the fall, Irvin said. Over break, the tables were replaced because the laminate was coming off the old ones, she said.
“I think honestly it just makes it more appealing for students just to sit and study or eat, whatever they want to do,” Vedanayagam said about the new tables added to the Marketplace.
There is a plan to spend as long as 10 years renovating all the food stations in Burge, as well as renovating the surfaces, ceiling, columns, and front entrance of the Marketplace, Irvin said. The renovations can’t be done all at once, because dining officials have to consider projects that need to be done in other locations, she said.
“Burge hasn’t really had a significant finish update in about 15 years, and it’s just time,” Irvin said.
