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

  • Houston K–12 District Opens New Elementary School

    The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) recently announced the completion of a new elementary school in a western suburb of Houston, Texas, according to a news release. Haygood Elementary School measures in at 110,000 square feet, has the capacity for 854 students, and is the first of three new schools scheduled to be built in the Cross Creek West community.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.