The Florida Board of Governors approved building a housing and student center complex on USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus. This advances USF’s plans to expand the campus and transform the college experience for students.
In the coming months, USF will break ground on a multi-story, 100,000-square-foot housing/student center. It will be located along Seagate Drive just west of the iconic Crosley Campus Center. The new complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. As many as 200 students will be able to live on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus for the first time.
“The new housing and student center is crucial to supporting the growth of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus,” USF President Rhea Law said. “This new project will allow the campus to strengthen the overall student experience as it continues expanding its academic program offerings in high-demand fields.”
The new buildings
The new building will have two parts. The student center will feature a new bookstore and spaces for dining, lounges and meeting rooms. Student housing will be comprised of 70 double-occupancy bedrooms and 60 single-occupancy bedrooms in one-bedroom, two-bedroom and four-bedroom apartment-style configurations, with shared bathrooms, living spaces and kitchens or kitchenettes.
Karen Holbrook, regional chancellor for the Sarasota-Manatee campus, says the new building will bring an added sense of vibrancy.
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“Our students have often told us they would like to live on campus and enjoy a traditional college experience. The new student center and residence hall will transform our beautiful campus and provide our students with new opportunities for success,” Holbrook said. “This project has been considered for several years, and I’m grateful to President Law for helping bring it to fruition, and to the Board of Governors and the USF Board of Trustees for their support.”
A USF consultant reported that, for many students, living on campus would be more affordable than many off-campus options in the area. This fall, more students than ever before are living on USF’s campuses in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Construction of the new building is expected to cost approximately $39 million. USF will contribute $16.5 million. Remaining funding will come from the sale of up to $30 million in bonds through the USF Financing Corp.
Further expansion of the campus
The student center/housing complex represents half of the expansion plans. This will almost triple the size of the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
Earlier this year, the Florida Legislature funded an initial $3 million appropriation for a 75,000-square-foot Nursing/STEM building.
The new $62 million academic building would double the size of the campus’s nursing program. It will also increase new majors in health disciplines and other programs and fill the need on campus for teaching and clinical labs and research facilities.
A planned capital campaign will generate part of the funding for the Nursing/STEM project. Also, some of the proceeds from the annual Brunch on the Bay on Nov. 6 will go to support the new building and academic programs.
