Florida Polytechnic University has seen a boom in construction lately. A new residence hall and an expanded cafeteria are debuting on the Lakeland campus soon.

School officials say it’s a matter of necessity.

  • Students need more campus housing at Fl. Polytechnic University
  • Lakeland campus is seeing multiple upgrades, including a new pool

Student housing was a major issue for the university during the 2015-2016 academic year.

“We still had a lot of demand for on campus housing but we weren’t able to begin construction on the second dorm until the school year started,” explained Communications Director Crystal Lauderdale.

Students had to double-up in the residence hall. Others chose to live off campus.

“There’s not that many apartment complexes, like I said, it’s limited," said Xin Wang, a computer science major. "There’s probably three places you can choose from."

The new residence hall will be the second one built on campus. It’s expected to open in August, before classes start.

“Residence hall two is going to give us a lot more capacity and a greater variety of dorm rooms to choose from,” Lauderdale said.

The dorm will include more social space and a pool for leisurely activity.

“I’m excited," said Brendan O’Malley, a new student who recently transferred to the university. "I heard they’re going to be luxury apartments."

Lauderdale said more than 1,100 student have already registered for the fall semester.

That's a big increase from two years ago. When the university opened they had 550 students enrolled.

“It’s going to be an exciting year for the university definitely, this third academic year," said Lauderdale. "There’s going to be a lot going on and having more than a thousand students on campus is going to be a big deal for us."