LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Polytechnic University has received the green light to move forward on a $40 million project.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state budget last week, which included funding to allow Florida Polytechnic to build its second academic building and first research center on campus
What You Need To Know
- Florida Poly received $40 million in the state budget for its research center
- The facility will be the university's second academic building
- The school needs the building to keep growing, officials say
- The research center is expected to be finished in spring 2022
“The university is growing,” Assistant Vice President of Safety and Facilities David Calhoun said. “This is exciting for us and great for our students.
“We opened our doors here at the university in 2012. In order to grow, it’s very important for us to have a facility to support that growth. This building will support a large amount of research on campus.”
The university has been receiving funds for the project in phases and has been working at the construction over the past two years, Calhoun said.
“Construction costs are targeted at $38 million, but the total project is upward of $40 million,” he said. “With all of our facilities, we try to adapt to the architecture we have on campus. There’s a lot of natural lighting that’s introduced in the building for energy efficiencies, as well as to incorporate done of the natural components we have in our Innovation Science and Technology building, which is award-winning architecture.”
The research facility on campus is expected to be completed in spring 2022.