State College of Florida advances toward a Parrish campus. Its plan got a thumbs up

State College of Florida has a long way to go in the journey to build a Parrish campus, but it reached an important milestone on Thursday morning.

After about one hour of presentations and questions, the Manatee County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the college’s general development plan. The plan is an overview of possible uses for the land, and it now faces a review by the Board of County Commissioners on March 5.

Approval would open the door for SCF to finalize its layout and constructions plans for each stage of the project, but the process is fluid and could easily evolve over the next several years.

“They see Parrish as a growing community, and one where their services can be well-utilized by the residents,” said Katie LaBarr, of Stantec Consulting Services.

LaBarr addressed the planning commission on Thursday morning, on behalf of SCF’s Board of Trustees. She said development of the property — about 74 acres at 11680 Erie Road — is broken into three phases.

Classrooms, offices and student services will occupy about 60,000 square feet in Phase One, according to the plan. The next phase includes more than 231,000 square feet of classrooms, along with a library, student union, physical plant and collegiate school.

SCF currently has collegiate schools in Bradenton and Venice. The programs allow high school students to enroll in college courses, helping them to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.

Project supporters see the addition as invaluable to the area, especially with Parrish Community High School right across the street.

Phase Three includes several more classroom buildings, along with a courtyard, a recreation area and “potential dormitories,” LaBarr said.

“We’ve identified dormitories as a potential use because we don’t quite know what the future holds, and we want to make sure we have a broad range of options for the college,” she explained.

The original plan featured a recreation area near the property’s western edge, which borders the Copperstone community, but it was later moved to avoid concerns about noise or lighting. That area is now slated for buildings or parking in the preliminary design.

Planning Commissioner Paul Rutledge asked whether the college received any community feedback or negative responses to the upcoming project.

“We did not hold a neighborhood workshop prior to these public hearings,” LaBarr said. “There has been some outreach by the college through the media, and to my knowledge we haven’t received any negative feedback.”

The commission spent much of its time discussing Copperstone and how to limit disruption to residents.

Between the buffer and the preserved land, there was 20 feet of separation, and the community had a “significant tract of open space” on its own land, creating “well over 100 feet” between Copperstone and the future campus, LaBarr responded.

Phase One is expected to take three to five years, at a cost of $25 million. The future stages will depend on the availability of funding, according to past interviews with college leadership.

The college is hoping to combine its own fundraising with a $9.5 million request in the 2020 Legislative Session, along with a $3.1 million grant that was applied for in December.

SCF also spent $2.5 million to buy the land in 2017. Before its purchase, the land was historically used for agricultural purposes.

“I think this is great,” Rutledge said. “I’m very excited about that being out east.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 12:06 PM.