The dining options to be offered in the Academic Commons Building will likely become an attraction to clientele outside of the UNA community, university officials said.

The building, scheduled for completion in spring of 2014, will offer full-service Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Frostbite dining locations on the ground floor.

“I think this is an opportunity to bring people and connect them to UNA,” said David Shields, vice president for student affairs.

Currently, the nearest Starbucks to Florence is located in Athens, nearly 50 miles away. Chick-fil-A and Frostbite already have popular locations in the Florence area.

Alan Kinkead, general manager of Sodexo Dining Services at UNA, said the high demand of these dining franchises will draw attention from surrounding cities.

“I really think it might be a good thing for the local area,” he said. “I think it could possibly bring more people not only to that building but also to the general downtown area.”

Kinkead said members of the general public already have access to on-campus dining locations, since UNA is a public institution; however, crowding, limited parking and limited hours of operation can be a deterrent.

“We’ve tried some late hours before, and nobody comes,” he said. “We’d love to be open 24/7 if the demand was there, but it is a business, and you have to run it based on when the demand is there.”

Shields said the building’s location at the entrance of campus and the mouth of Court Street, the main artery of traffic flow downtown, will make it accessible and convenient for the community.

“I think it makes us a stronger community, it helps us to recruit and retain students, and it provides an economic benefit and vitality to the downtown (area),” Shields said.

University officials have considered the parking dilemma this could create, Shields said.

The design of the Academic Commons Building does not allow for a drive-thru. Shields said the solution will be “quick parking,” spaces that only allow 15-minute parking for shoppers to come and go without causing traffic or parking issues.

The number of “quick parking” spaces has yet to be determined, Shields said.

He said business from the community will benefit students, since businesses with a high amount of revenue can have longer hours of operation.

He said his desire is to see the Academic Commons Building fill a need for a late-night gathering spot on campus for students and community members alike.

“I look forward to walking past that coffee shop … and that building is filled with students in there talking, hanging out, interacting — we don’t have that now,” Shields said.

According to their website, Starbucks considers their cafes “neighborhood gathering places” with an atmosphere conducive to both work and social gatherings.

Shields and Kinkead said that with seating for 30 inside the Starbucks cafe, plus additional seating in the lounge and patio areas, the building will have ample seating accommodations.

“Our expectation as a university is that they are going to be open until 9, 10 o’clock, maybe 11 o’clock at night,” Shields said.