Davis Wince helps reinvent the student union for Capital University

Harry C. Moores Student Union including One Main Cafe enhances student life experience; lunch sales are up 50 percent, late-night business is up approximately 20 percent compared to last year, and the addition of the barista bar has increased campus coffee sales by 10 percent.

Davis Wince, Ltd. recently completed the renovation of more than 15,000 sf of the Harry C. Moores Student Union. The complete renovation is on the first floor and lower level of the 1965 era Capital University Campus Center. The construction followed master planning and long-term visioning sessions with student groups, staff, and university administration.

The work includes strategic relocation of various program pieces, expansion of some, and elimination of others to best reflect today’s student. The most visible change is the relocation of the post office to the lower level, opening up first floor space for a new, vibrant student lobby and lounge that now serves as the ‘living room’ of campus with views out to campus.

The large meeting space on the first floor has been expanded to accommodate 200 people. In addition to IT upgrades, an operable partition has been added to the room, allowing the space to break up for smaller group meetings and brainstorming sessions.

Features in the new student space are designed to better engage today’s students; these include graphics illustrating study-abroad destinations, international student representation, student organization offerings, and new university-integrated digital signage promoting campus events and awareness.

Opening up right off the lobby is the new One Main Café. The former Crusader Club, a fast-casual campus dining option, has been completely gutted and reinvented with a contemporary tavern aesthetic.

Sections of the bowling lanes, original to the building and removed from the lower level during this project, were salvaged and repurposed as high-top community tables.

The rich wood trim, reclaimed barn siding accents, and a new barista coffee bar all welcome students into a unique campus eatery that serves fresh food and pays homage to campus life and history.

The renovation of this space is already paying off, quite literally, as lunch sales are up 50 percent and late-night business (7 p.m. - 11 p.m.) is up approximately 20 percent compared to last year. The addition of the barista bar has also increased campus coffee sales by 10 percent.

On the lower level, the former bowling alley space is largely reclaimed with a much needed expansion of production and rehearsal space for the Black Box Theatre. Additionally, the Student Government office has been relocated adjacent to the Activities Management and Planning Office to create an environment to foster continued collaborate between the two student organizations.

The project also included new furniture in the lounge and café spaces. Additionally, HVAC upgrades were made in the first floor and lower levels, with local VAV boxes allowing local users better control of their environments.

Upon project completion, the renovations were so impactful in repositioning the building that the university, in conjunction with Student Government, officially rebranded it from the campus center to the student union.