McFall Hall Renovation: Let the Adventure Begin

The structure, formerly known as Memorial Hall, was designed in 1959 and has housed the Upper and Middle Schools as a cafeteria since1961. It was renamed in November 2014 to honor Charlie McFall, longtime football and baseball coach and athletic director who retired the previous spring after 43 years.

 

Simply put, McFall Hall, with limited storage and wall-to-wall people during lunch shifts, has become antiquated.

 

“It has a good shell,” Carson said, “but it was built for an entirely different era when a cafeteria was sort of like factory production. You’d go in, you’d get your food, and you’d sit in long rows and consume your food.”

 

The previous incarnation contained 9,500 square feet accommodated 300 for lunch on a good day.

 

“That’s 300 people, shoulder-to-shoulder,” Carson added. “That’s very, very tight. We needed to right-size the place.”

 

The renovated facility will expand to 15,574 square feet and accommodate 450-plus.  The kitchen/preparation/serving area will have four (rather than the current three) lines plus the salad bar. An addition on the west (North Mooreland Road) side which can be partitioned off will contain 1,218 square feet and provide seating for as many as 80. On the south will be a mezzanine that seats 40, a conference room which can be partitioned and also seats 40, and a terrace for outdoor dining on good-weather days.

 

“We’re expanding so that this building pushes as far (to the west) as we can responsibly go,” Carson said. “We’re also pushing to the south over what used to be the patio and touches the Head of School’s office.”

 

Converting a 55-year-old building into a code-compliant, multi-use facility that can be used throughout the day and well into the evening has presented challenges.

 

“No technical drawings existed, so we didn’t know what was inside the guts of the space,” Carson continued. “We’ve had to do a lot of exploration to figure out what we have and what we need to upgrade. It’s a complete re-do structurally, mechanically, electrically, and with plumbing. We’ve added a sprinkler system. The building has to be earthquake resistant. That’s part of the code now. It also has to be more energy efficient. A lot of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles are part of the building code now, which is good.”

 

So what’s the deal between now and August 2017 when the renovation is complete?

 

“It’s a construction zone,” Carson said. “We’ll be eating in the cafeteria, though. That’s a plus. We won’t have the view. We may miss a few tables. On the south side, where the windows are, there’ll be a full-height sheetrock wall. There’ll be a similar wall on the west. It will be interesting to see if the noise level is of a higher decibel level than the construction outside.

 

“Aladdin (Food Service) has worked with us hand-in-hand with a positive attitude and can-do spirit. They assure us they won’t skip a beat.

        

“Our students are very adaptable. They’ll come in and say, ‘Hey, wow, this is different.’ Then, they’ll get on with their lives. After a couple of days, it just becomes what it is. After the initial shock, we’ll be just fine.

 

“It’ll be a beautiful facility. It’ll be spacious, open, and bright. A year from now, you and I can have this conversation in some comfortable seating over a nice cup of coffee.”

         -- Weldon Bradshaw