HCC will put new campus in Ruskin

PENSACOLA -- Hillsborough Community College is preparing to expand into fast-growing southern Hillsborough County with a new campus on 60 acres in Ruskin.

The new campus would start out as a "center" offering several general education courses until the student population grew to the 3,000 students necessary to meet the state's definition of a campus.

The land is on the northwest side of the intersection of Interstate 75 and State Road 674, next to a parcel set aside for a new high school. The property is being donated to HCC by the Dickman family and is valued at roughly $1-million, according to HCC.

"This is a great opportunity for us to do more in that area," said HCC president Gwendolyn Stephenson, who got approval for the project Friday from the Board of Education. "The community actually came to us. They felt there had to be better access."

HCC already has four campuses, in Ybor City, Brandon, Plant City and on Dale Mabry Highway near Raymond James Stadium. They form a band across the midsection of the county. As Stephenson pointed out, that leaves the fast-growing northern and southern corridors underserved. The college is ready to establish a new Ruskin campus simply because the land became available.

Nearly 6,000 new homes are planned in the area, which includes Apollo Beach, Gibsonton, Riverview, Ruskin, Sun City Center and Wimauma.

Stephenson said it would take three to five years to develop the site. The college has estimated it will cost about $1.8-million to prepare the site and get roads, water and sewer up to the necessary standards. The money for developing and building the center is not yet in place.

But HCC plans to get a head start by offering classes out of a storefront in the area in March 2003, Stephenson said.

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