USF Sarasota-Manatee ushers in 'new era,' with start on first student housing building

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee is starting construction on its first student housing, marking a milestone in the commuter-dominated campus' growth.

About 200 faculty, administration, students, staff and public officials gathered on the west lawn of the USFSM campus off of North Tamiami Trail to celebrate the occasion. The dorm is a first for the college of about 2,000 students, as it will add a more traditional residential college campus component to the school.

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The complex, set to open in the fall of 2024, will be about 100,000 square feet and house about 200 students, according to a news release. Construction is expected to cost about $42 million, and USF will contribute $16.5 million immediately, the school has said. The remaining cost will be funded through the sale of bonds, $200,000 per year in activity and service fees and revenue from USF Housing.

The dorms could also have an economic impact on development along N. Tamiami Trail with the influx of 200 residents to the area. USFSM sits across the street from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, and just north of New College of Florida and The Ringling art museum.

A two-person dorm-room-style unit will tentatively cost $1,170 per person per month, according to the summary sent to the Board of Governors for the state university system. Meanwhile, the two- and four-person apartment-style units will cost $1,550 and $1,416 per month, respectively.

There will be 70 two-person bedrooms and 60 one-person bedrooms in one-, two- and four-bedroom apartment-style configurations. The lower levels of the building will have a bookstore, dining and study spaces.

Karen Holbrook, the regional chancellor of USFSM, called the building the "beginning of a new era."

"This is unbelievably exciting," Holbrook said. "We have been waiting for this and waiting for this for years."

She said the school expects the dorms to fill immediately and would allow for USFSM to begin recruiting students from across the country as opposed to just locally. The dorms, which will be only the second building constructed on campus, will give students a place to socialize and work, she said.

Evelyn De Oliveira and Madison Sosa, the governor and lieutenant governor of USF Sarasota Manatee's student government, respectively, both spoke at the ceremony. Sosa said many student involvement groups find it challenging to coordinate events and meetings because of the overcrowding of just one building.

"This building is going to transform our student experience here on campus," De Oliviera said.

The Florida Legislature has also approved a 75,000-square-foot nursing/STEM building on the campus.

At the other USF campus in St. Petersburg, the construction of on-campus housing in 2020 also helped grow and transform the campus from a commuter school to a more traditional four-year university.

Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: USF Sarasota-Manatee starts construction on first student dorms