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(Nov. 22, 2010) The first meal was served Friday afternoon in the new dining hall at North Georgia College & State University -- even though the building is more than six months from completion and the second floor doesn't have any walls.

A "topping out" luncheon was held on the dining hall's first floor, which when completed will seat some 750. About 180 university staff, administrators and guests joined workers and executives from the construction firms handling the project at long rows of picnic tables for a barbecue lunch. University President David Potter and NGCSU Foundation Chairman Ed Nix took a quick tour of the facility prior to Friday's luncheon.

A "topping out" ceremony or celebration typically is held when the final beam is put in place in a major construction project -- marking the milestone of a significant portion of a project being completed. North Georgia's $16.2 million dining hall project is on schedule for completion in fall 2011.

The facility is under construction at the corner of West Main Street and Sunset Drive on the spot once occupied by Sanford Hall, a former residence hall.

Sanford was demolished in the spring and construction began this summer on the new dining hall. A limited number of bricks from Sanford Hall will be sold to support the Class of 1964 Scholarship Fund, created by that class at its 45th-year class reunion. John Douglas '64 is coordinating the sale of the bricks and may be reached at 770-205-5448 or via e-mail at jdouglas@northgeorgia.edu for more information.

The current dining hall will remain open until the new facility is completed. The new dining hall will have two dining rooms with a seating capacity of 750 and 250 each and special-event space that will seat 250 people. It also will feature a Presidential Dining Room, a more intimate dining area for smaller groups.

Students will be able to get their food more quickly and event space included in the plan will accommodate groups of up to 250 for university and community events. The building's design also includes an outdoor terrace and a glass front with views of the drill field and surrounding campus.

Two new residence halls, the 600-bed North Georgia Suites and 350-bed Patriot Hall, and a new parking deck that holds about 1,000 cars opened on campus this fall.

Construction of all the university's new facilities is funded through bonds repaid by fees paid for use of the buildings, such as housing fees for residence halls, meal plan fees for the dining hall, and parking fees for the parking decks.