Santa Fe College – Blount Center Expansion

The campus is the primary location of the Business and Information Technology programs for the College.

Client: Santa Fe College
Market: Higher Education
Project Area: 310,000 sq. ft.

An array of student services

The new 87,000 Blount Center on the corner of University and 6th in Downtown Gainesville has become the cornerstone building of the Santa Fe College Blount Campus. The campus is the primary location of the Business and Information Technology programs for the College. The new building provides an array of student services and spaces, including classroom and lab suites for general education, information technology education, business education, learning commons, and other support areas. Business and Information Technology spaces include several simulation classrooms, including Cyber War Room, Security, Programming and Analysis, IT Technician, and Networking.

Center for Innovation and Economic Development

The building is also the new permanent home for SF’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED). CIED’s new incubator spaces features various size private offices, along with permanent workstations and private storage. In addition to contemporary conferencing amenities, CIED patrons have access to several office-type environments, including collaboration and private work areas. In those collaboration spaces, business owners have the opportunities for random interaction with business and information technology students. In addition to the facility spaces and amenities, patrons are in close proximity to CIED administration, who provide necessary support for the success of the small businesses. The incubator spaces are co-mingled with academic and student spaces, creating an atmosphere of innovation and creation. This helps support the project goal of increasing higher education opportunities for underserved communities in downtown and East Gainesville.