Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

USF Sarasota-Manatee Breaks Ground on First Residence Hall

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/02/23

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Campus, located in Sarasota, Fla., recently broke ground on its first residence hall and student center, according to a university news release. The building will measure in at 100,000 square feet, stand six stories tall, and will have capacity for 200 students. The $42-million facility is scheduled for completion in fall 2024.

“This project represents a significant milestone in the University of South Florida’s history and signals our commitment to the expansion of the Sarasota-Manatee campus,” said USF President Rhea Law at the groundbreaking ceremony on March 1. “We’ve made it a priority to increase student housing at USF because we know that living on campus can raise academic performance, support student retention, and create a stronger sense of community. This new facility will transform the student experience by providing more opportunities to get involved, connect with peers, and build long-lasting relationships.”

The bottom two stories will play home to a student center with amenities like dining facilities, a bookstore, lounges and meeting spaces, a ballroom, and offices for campus organizations including student government. For the first time in university history, the wide variety of student services will be centralized beneath a single roof. The new dining hall will replace the university’s existing café, which will be converted into a teaching kitchen for the university’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

The top four floors will play home to student residences in a variety of configurations, according to the news release.

“The student center and residence hall will help recruit and retain students, and infuse students’ college experience with a new vibrancy that will allow the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to forever shed the moniker of being a ‘commuter college,’” said Sarasota-Manatee campus Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.