A new classroom and laboratory building slated for Daytona State College’s Flagler/Palm Coast Campus will double the capacity of the college’s northernmost campus and be constructed according to the needs of the Flagler community.
The $7,606,381 in capital improvement funding for the proposed 23,436-square-foot building was approved by Gov. Rick Scott in April. In May, the college submitted requests for proposals for the design phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in October 2013, with construction beginning the following month.
“During this planning phase, we are taking a look at the needs of the community and how we can best serve our students,” said Campus Dean Kent Ryan. “We’re focusing on expanding science and health care programs, where we are seeing an increasing need to accommodate our Flagler residents who currently must commute to the Daytona campus for these programs.”
Ryan said preliminary plans also call for the assessment office to be relocated to provide easier access and flow for students when starting the college admissions process, mirroring a one-stop concept that has proven to be successful on the Daytona Beach Campus.
He noted the college also is considering the addition of some culinary program courses to the campus offerings once construction is completed in fall 2014.
Bret Nielsen, senior facilities planner for the college, said doubling the capacity of the Flagler campus will provide adequate space for up to 10 years of projected population growth. Since 2004, the campus has seen FTE more than double, from 465 to 1,051 last year. The campus has averaged a headcount of 2,394 students over the last 10 years.
In total, four projects were funded or partially funded by the governor during this year’s budget round, including $2,032,845 for renovation and scene shop construction at the News-Journal Center, $2,400,000 for planning and partial construction of a new student services building, including classrooms, on the Daytona Beach Campus, and $3,012,000 for a thermal storage facility on the Daytona Beach Campus, which is expected to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs each year.
