HCC SouthShore accepts public input

Mar 10, 2010 — Tampa Tribune

Lois Kindle

Mar. 10, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- RUSKIN -- Sometimes we do have a say on what goes on around us. At least, that's true when it comes to our community college.

About two dozen area residents turned out recently at Hillsborough Community College's South Shore campus after administrators invited public comment on an upcoming revision of its growth plan, a state requirement every five years.

Allen Witt, campus president, said that HCC SouthShore is growing so fast, its physical footprint requires expansion, much more than originally anticipated.

"We started out with 1,500 individual students our first fall semester, and this year we have 4,800," he said. "We're growing every semester."

In January, the campus began offering an associate of science degree in nursing, and others are soon to follow. In order to do those things, Witt said, the school will need more space.

WilsonMiller, a multidisciplinary planning, design and engineering firm, has been hired by HCC to come up with revised growth plans for all five of its campuses, which now serve more than 50,000 students. During the next several months, the firm will "address physical plan and academic alternatives through 2015 and 2020," said Michael English, an urban planner for HCC.

"Our charge is to get this by June for the SouthShore campus," he said, adding the firm will draft a master plan in March or April and submit it to HCC trustees by May.

Based on growth data, the existing footprint will need to be expanded from its current 54,828 square feet to 102,537 in 2015 and 144,487 in 2020. That could certainly change when the economy rebounds.

WilsonMiller representatives are seeking community input regarding not only campus design, but also safety and security, academic programs, sustainability and other areas of interest. They called the plan a "flexible document for the future."

Questions from the audience at the meeting centered around courses to attract seniors from Sun City Center; placing infrastructure in advance to prevent reinventing the wheel every five years; road access to the campus; expanded food and sanitation services; signage and advertising to increase public awareness; video conferencing between campuses and over the Internet; distance learning; using the land surrounding the campus as an environmental classroom; and creation of an entrepreneurial program.

The planners took lots of notes.

But more input is needed they said, and you can also have a say. To get involved, call (813) 223-9500 and ask for Neale Stralow, the project manager.

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 627-4760 or (813) 731-8138.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0201-42733737