The University of South Florida has started site work on a new housing & student center at its Sarasota-Manatee campus. Site work began last week with the official groundbreaking taking place today. The center will house around 200 students and is scheduled to be completed for the Fall 2024 semester.

The center will be six-stores and total 100,000 square feet. The center hopes to recruit and retain students in the Sarasota-Manatee area – where many have had a hard time finding off-site housing or have remained living at home. Being the only four-year research university in the region they hope to shed the label of being a commuter college.

The project was originally announced in September. The building will have 32,000 square feet dedicated to the student center which will include a bookstore, dining options, and lounges/meeting rooms. The top four floors will be made of 70 double occupant rooms, and 60 single occupancy rooms that will be like apartments with one, two, and four-bedroom options with shared bathrooms and kitchens.

The building is being constructed on Seagate Drive, south of the campus and just west of the Selby Auditorium. 

Source: Business Observer, FL