Board details remodeling of Cooperage, Bombshelter

Developments regarding the Cooperage remodel and the proposed South Campus Student Center architectural design were the primary topics of discussion at Friday’s Associated Students UCLA board of directors meeting.

The Cooperage remodel has completed two of its five phases by removing the salad bar and opening the expanded Taco Bell, Executive Director Bob Williams said.

Williams unveiled detailed plans for the next three phases of the remodel. He said the next phase, creating a new dining and coffee section, could be completed as early as December.

Later phases of the Cooperage remodel will see an expanded burger eatery and a large recreation area and may be completed in 2008.

Williams said the new burger eatery will have a full-service “burger factory” much like a major fast-food chain, and the recreation area will include a 12-feet-by-12-feet television, pool tables and a self-operated computer gaming space.

Hoi Ning Ngai, a graduate-student representative on the board, said the Cooperage remodel represents the Association’s ongoing effort to make its spaces more inviting and welcoming to students, faculty and staff.

“ASUCLA will be able to continue providing our customers with high-quality food and service, while simultaneously working to improve upon the existing physical infrastructure,” Ngai said.

Also, early designs for the proposed South Campus Student Center show a facility with sustainable features such as natural light and air scrubbers to clear smoke emissions from grills.

The center will be surrounded by trees planted outside South Campus buildings, and the plans showed roofs with a grassy area.

Williams said the center will have 212 indoor seats and 306 outdoor seats and would accommodate an estimated 2,500 customers a day, compared to 1,400 for the current Bombshelter.

The board also discussed the association’s new marketing plan, which includes exposure in newspapers and restaurants, as well as a “core values campaign.”

The core values campaign is an effort from ASUCLA to communicate with the campus about some of the association’s core values, such as sustainability and a commitment to competitive student wages, said Jared Fox, graduate student representative and board chairman.

ASUCLA will advertise its merchandise in the Los Angeles Times’ sports section, the Orange County Register and menus at select Cheesecake Factory locations, Williams said.

The rationale behind the marketing strategy is to expose the public to UCLA merchandise during basketball season.

“We are owned and governed by the students, and the campaign is designed to let the new faces on campus learn that, as our motto says, “˜It all comes back to you.’ Everything that we put into ASUCLA comes back to us as students,” Fox said.

On the business front, two of ASUCLA’s new concepts, the Broad Arts Café and the Coins arcade, have experienced slower sales this month.

Roy Champawat, director of the student union, said the Coins arcade has not experienced any growth so far, despite the new location.

But Champawat said Ackerman Union is planning to introduce a comprehensive recycling program in the coming weeks. In addition, Ackerman will see extra space with the departure of the Communications Technology Services office.

Williams said preliminary ideas for the new space in Ackerman include a full-sized post office or a frozen yogurt shop.

Despite areas of slow growth, ASUCLA’s sales and finances are “impressive” and represent a considerable increase from last year, said Rich Delia, chief financial officer.

The computer store is an exceptionally strong sales area, mainly due to Apple products, Delia said.

ASUCLA has also seen success with its sales tents at football games. During the last game with California, ASUCLA took in approximately $75,000 in sales.

“We’re up quite a bit from last year, and that was an impressive year,” Delia said.

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