Florida Institute of Technology -
Central Campus Redevelopment Project
Overview:
- Location: Melbourne, Florida
- Completion Date: Summer 2008
- Design Firm: HADP Architecture, Inc.
- Construction Manager: M.H. Williams Construction Group, Inc.
Description:
University Housing Services is helping the Florida Institute of Technology reposition itself from a good American institution to one of America’s great universities. Florida Tech engaged the services of UHS again, this time to develop Phase 1 of its new student community, Central Campus Redevelopment.
This project consists of the following:
- 137,000 square foot residence hall for nearly 400 students
- 34,000 square foot food service and banquet facility with seating for 550
- 15,200 square foot life sciences and aquaculture lab facility
- 6-level, 350-space parking deck
- 50-meter competition swimming and diving facility
The new vision of Melbourne-based Florida Tech, the only independent, technological university in the Southeast, is to transform itself by creating multiple facilities that are very accessible to the community. The innovative design will give Florida Tech a true living-learning community that incorporates all of the principles of new urbanism through essentially a living, breathing village that’s very accessible. The design accomplishes this by encouraging walking through pedestrian paths, land savings through a multi-level parking garage and minimizing sprawl.
This is indeed a major transformation for a school that started out as a small technical college in 1958 to train professionals working in the space program (now the Kennedy Space Center) 50 miles away.
The Central Campus Redevelopment Project is expected to be completed by 2010. Thanks in part to UHS, Florida Tech is on its way towards becoming one of the top 10 technological universities in the world.