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

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.

  • Pitzer College

    Designing for Change in Higher Ed Learning Environments

    Higher education will continue to evolve, and learning environments must evolve with it. By prioritizing adaptable infrastructure, thoughtful reuse, strong energy performance, and wellness-centered design, campuses can create spaces that support learning today while remaining flexible for the future.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.