Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

OSU to Start Construction on Central Market Place

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/20/23

Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla., recently announced that construction will soon begin on a new campus dining facility. Citing outdated facilities and student feedback on social media, the university will replace the existing Kerr-Drummond dining complex with Central Marketplace, a 31,000-square-foot facility with four dining options and a capacity for about 300 guests, according to a news release. The project will cost about $22 million.

“We get a lot of feedback about dining on social media, and we really listen to what the students are saying and try to put a lot of thought into these concepts based on feedback that we’ve received,” said Student Union Marketing assistant director Debbie Shotwell.

Dining options available in Central Market Place will include:

  • Byte: A restaurant with a “ghost kitchen” concept that will serve a diverse, rotating menu. Guests will place their orders via kiosk or mobile app, and the meal will be prepped behind closed doors and delivered through a wall of lockers.
  • Caribou Coffee: The franchise will serve traditional and specialty coffee drinks, as well as bakery items.
  • 405 Deli: The sandwich shop will move from the existing Kerr-Drummond dining complex into the new dining facility to serve salads and gourmet sandwiches.
  • 1890 Market: The market will serve as a rebranding of the university’s on-campus convenience store in Kerr-Drummond. It will provide items like groceries, snacks, necessities, and grab-and-go items, according to the university news release.

Central Market Place has an estimated completion date of fall 2024. After construction is finished, the university plans to demolish Kerr-Drummond to make room for student parking.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.