UNC Dining Plans Additional Facility Upgrade Despite Debt From Past Projects

Despite a debt load accumulated from a number of major renovations and new construction in the past 16 years, the University of North Carolina Dining Services is planning to upgrade the Lenoir Mainstreet food court, the school's largest retail dining venue, which has been straining under heavy lunch traffic, reports the Daily Tar Heel campus paper. Between 1998 and 2011, the department accumulated debt of $36 million following renovations to Top of Lenoir and the Student Union and the construction of Rams Head Dining Hall. The debt has been financed with a student fee and revenues from meal plan sales, which are all voluntary.

Carolina Dining sells around 7,000 meal plans annually and generates over $33 million in revenues. All campus dining operations are managed by Aramark.