Delays plague completion of food court

Construction on the Moravian Cafes food court, originally scheduled to be finished this month, has been delayed and is now scheduled to be finished in mid-November.

The cafeteria, located at 3401 Walnut St., is being completely remodeled, and three new eateries will be added.

Taco Bell, KFC and Quiznos will be joining Famous Famiglia Pizza -- an Italian eatery -- and Gourmet Ice Cream and Yogurt in the complex.

In addition to these restaurants, CVS will move to the building from its current location at 39th and Walnut streets in the spring of 2006.

One of the reasons the reopening of the food court has been postponed is stalled legal negotiations with the new tenants.

Although the major chains moving in sent in a letter of intent to occupy the location, complicated legal negotiations still had to take place -- a process that took longer than expected, Facilities and Real Estate Services spokesman Tony Sorrentino.

Rising prices for basic construction materials have also been a factor in the delay of the construction. A number of national and international incidents and trends this year have strained the market for both materials and labor.

The war in Iraq, limited resources because of Hurricane Katrina and, more locally, increased construction in Center City have all contributed to the rise in materials costs, Sorrentino said.

Although he did not specify a reason, Philadelphia-area construction consultant James Hamje said that over the past several years, "steep increases in material costs, particularly things like structural steel, drywall and timber," which are basic materials for almost any construction project, have contributed to rising construction costs.

Sorrentino said that the rise in the price of labor and materials forced officials to restructure the project to stay within the budget, a process he called "value engineering."

Students at Penn hope that the food court will open as soon as possible.

Last year, Nursing sophomore Adela Di Camillo ate at the Moravian Cafes frequently because of its convenient location near Hill College House.

Di Camillo said that the food court being closed at the beginning of the year is "unfortunate for the freshmen," adding that the problem is "not really detrimental right now, but it would have been nice to have [the cafes open] earlier."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.