Tulane University will replace Bruff Commons with a new dining hall, set to be completed in fall 2015.

The university has renovated Bruff multiple times since it was constructed 49 years ago, most recently in 2010.

“We’ve outgrown Bruff,” Beckmann said. “It needs to be updated. The student population has outgrown it.”

The new Tulane dining hall is currently in the pre-design stages.

“As much as we love Bruff, it’s time for it to go,” said Rob Hailey, senior associate vice president for university services. “We will have more information about cost and timelines in late July.

Tulane, however, has already tentatively decided the location of the dining hall.

“The building will be located [where] Phelps [House] is now, with rooms probably above,” Hailey said. “We chose that location because it has street access for a loading dock and because it is so centrally located.”

Additionally, Hailey said the university has finalized plans to build a new 24-hour on-campus diner. New Orleans eatery City Diner will move into the Lavin-Bernick Center basement’s Der Rathskeller, where WOW Cafe and Wingery is currently located. Hailey said WOW will relocate to the Lagniappe Station area of the LBC Food Court.

 Because Tulane has not finalized structural plans for the new dining hall, the New Orleans City Council’s recently passed Interim Zoning District proposal did not affect the project. If enacted, the IZD would ban large university structures within residential areas. It is unlikely, however, that they proposed dining hall would be large enough to conflict with the IZD.

Beckman said the university is brainstorming many additions to the new dining hall.

“With the phase that we’re in right now, we’re thinking of things that we would like to have inside of the building and things like that,” Beckman said.

An advisory committee composed of 60 students and Tulane dining officials have discussed possible changes, and school officials have visited other universities’ dining halls.

“We make trips to other universities where we know they have done a very good job with dining and have a similar volume to ours,” Beckmann said.

Dining Services plans to increase the capacity of the new dining hall from the current 520 seats in Bruff to 1,000 seats.

“The 1,000 seats will give everyone some breathing room,” Beckman said.

The new dining hall’s food selection will be largely similar to Bruff, with a few updates: a smokehouse for the grill section, a Turbochef – similar to the ovens used at Subway – a flat top grill, a self-supported vegetarian station with its own fryers and burners to prevent cross contamination, and gluten-free stations.

“I am so happy to hear Tulane is planning to improve options for vegetarians,” sophomore Julia Birt said. “Some days, it is so hard to find something to eat, and I know many other vegetarians feel the same way. I am glad Tulane is really addressing students’ concerns.”

 The new dining hall will no longer feature Akoo Television Network. Instead, different television stations will play in each area.

“If you want to watch news, you sit over here,” Beckmann said. “If you want to watch sports, you sit over there.”

Dining services also plans to add private rooms to the new dining hall. These rooms will host club meetings and large group gatherings.

“[Clubs] can reserve room and go to Bruff to eat off of the all-you-can-eat plan,” Beckmann said. “But they will still be able to go to the separate room also.”

Tulane also plans to implement environmentally friendly aspects like composting and rainwater programs.