Administrative offices and classrooms for night and weekend programs are expected to be open in a Dade City building in six to nine months.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published November 23, 2003
DADE CITY - Saint Leo University officials promise a rapid advance into downtown Dade City, now that they have bought a suitable property, and local leaders are hailing the school's arrival.
The university plans to open classrooms for night and weekend programs, as well as administrative offices, in the defunct Pasco Nursing and Rehabilitation Center building within six to nine months.
"I'm excited about it," said Ginny Solberg, executive director of Downtown Dade City Main Street. "One project like this is a catalyst for improvement in the whole area."
What Solberg was happy about was Wednesday's successful $250,000 bid by the university to buy the 8,000-square-foot closed nursing home building along Fifth Street, just north of the Pasco County administration building and parking complex. The facility sold at auction after a tight bidding war between the university and Pasco County.
An influx of university students, rotating in and out of the new school complex each semester, will expose a steady stream of newcomers to Dade City's downtown blend of shops and restaurants, Solberg said.
University public relations director Doyia Turner said the school plans to move fast, with a rapid renovation of the run-down, 20-room nursing home that has been abandoned and surrounded by overgrown vegetation since it closed in June 2001.
In less than a year, the new university facility will be overhauled and ready for work, she said. The school plans to landscape the grounds and remake the exterior in the Mediterranean style of the school's main campus along the shore of Lake Jovita. That means stucco walls and orange roofing tiles, she said.
Turner said the available parking at the county building, when the building is closed at night or on the weekends, would be an ideal solution to tight parking along the north end of Fifth Street.
Dade City Manager Harold Sample said the city will also work with the school, likely turning over a seldom-used alley to the school for parking.
Sample said that while the building won't be on city tax rolls, because of the educational use, it is still a welcome addition to downtown. The area where the building is located, he said, is somewhat off the beaten commercial path, but it's a prime location for a school or government use. "Other things are going to come; the area is going to redevelop," Sample said.
Mayor Scott Black also saw nothing but good coming from the university's interest in downtown.
"It's a welcome addition. Just the very presence of Saint Leo University and their willingness to invest in Dade City, I see that as a great sign," Black said.
The mayor commended university president Arthur Kirk for keeping a promise made years ago to extend the school into Dade City.
"It's a great vote of confidence," Black said. "It's going to help so much with the redevelopment of that area. I'm just so excited about it."
- Chase Squires covers Dade City news. He can be reached at 325 521-5757, ext. 27 or toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 27. His e-mail address is squires@sptimes.com
