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If the county decides to donate the land, a satellite HCC campus could come to northwest Hillsborough
By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 31, 2002
TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- Community leaders in northwest Hillsborough are closer to realizing a longtime goal of building a local community college now that they've identified a viable site for a campus.
Their hopes are riding on County Commissioners agreeing to donate 1,100 acres of surplus county-owned land that is west of Gunn Highway and south of South Mobley Road, behind Sickles High School.
"We are going to ask the Board of County Commissioners to devote 100 acres of that land for a college campus and 1,000 acres to create a county park," said Raymond Frazier, a Town 'N Country activist.
Hillsborough Community College is a state community college that serves more than 40,000 students a year. Thousands of students from northwest Hillsborough now commute to HCC campuses at Dale Mabry Highway and Ybor City.
HCC has wanted to expand to this area for years, but could not find a place to build. This site would be a perfect marriage for the college and the community, said Rob Wolf, senior vice president of HCC.
"We want communities to pull us into their communities," Wolf said. "We only go where the citizens in the community want us to be. If there is a legitimate need for us to be there, we'll do everything in our power to get there."
Frazier, who has led the HCC initiative, said northwest community leaders will make a formal request to commissioners this summer, but they've not decided on a date.
Meanwhile, the group and HCC officials are laying the groundwork for the proposal by meeting with elected officials to build support for the project. At least one county commissioner is already sold on the idea.
"I am wholeheartedly supportive of having an HCC satellite campus in northwest Hillsborough," said Commissioner Stacey Easterling, whose district includes Town 'N Country. "I think it would be a wonderful addition to that community.
"Having a campus in northwest Hillsborough will benefit the whole county."
Community colleges like HCC offer two-year degree programs which prepare students for a four-year college or teach technical job skills that prepare students for higher paying jobs in the work force.
This campus, which has not even been designed yet, would concentrate its curriculum on high technology job training, Wolf said. HCC offers technology degrees in subjects including electronics, computers and biomedical equipment engineering.
"I'm about helping people to be independent and better the quality of their lives," Frazier said. "There are a lot of retail and service sector jobs in northwest Hillsborough, but the problem with those are they have a limited potential for the future."
Frazier said the proposal to use the undeveloped land for an HCC campus and county park would serve two important needs: job skill development and preservation of open space.
If the land is not designated for a park, Frazier believes it will fall into the hands of a developer who will build yet another housing project or shopping center.
"The 1,000-acre park would be a buffer to development and ensure there are some open spaces left," Frazier said. "We have to convince the (commission) that this is what the people want."
Joyce Smith, chairwoman of the Town 'N Country Alliance, said she supports the HCC campus proposal, but she remains cautiously optimistic.
"We'd love to have an HCC campus out here," Smith said. "It would be an asset to any community. Look at the people it would bring in and the role it would play. It would be wonderful. But the problem is getting the land."
-- Tim Grant can be reached at 269-5311 or at grant@sptimes.com.