Construction began Monday on new vendor stalls in the West Plaza of the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

Construction is expected to last six to eight weeks, said Guy Dalpe, managing director of the student center, although poor weather conditions could be a factor.

“The biggest thing is how much rain we get,” Dalpe said. “Every day we have to delay gets added onto the finish time.”

For the first few days, foot traffic will be filtered through the Gold Coast Grill while crews reduce the size of the gaps between concrete slabs in the plaza walkway – repairs encouraged under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

After the concrete is finished, traffic should be able to move normally through the large door at the rear of the Student Center and north and south across the plaza, Dalpe said.

Carmelina La Petite and Bark N Bun will move from the South Plaza into the new location, which will include a full service kitchen for a new food vendor.

The choices for types of food have been narrowed down to Filipino, Thai and Japanese. Students will have the opportunity to vote on which food they would like to see in the plaza and afterwards vendor selection should begin in January, Dalpe said.

The new area will also include space for three potential murals.

The Student Center Governing Board began discussing plans for West Plaza construction in 1999, but funding issues have delayed construction.

Originally the project was estimated at a cost of less than $400,000, but rose significantly.

“Construction prices escalated pretty dramatically,” Dalpe said.

The estimate rose to about $650,000 in 2003, but concrete repairs have added to the cost and delayed the project. The new agreed contract amount is $869,000, Dalpe said.