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ADRIENNE P. SAMUELSThe EpiCenter will open in phases with a business mix that bodes well for the college and the county.
LARGO - St. Petersburg College is preparing to move into new digs it will share with county agencies, a master's degree program from the University of South Florida and local business people seeking to improve their work skills.
In September, the college's administrative staff will begin moving into the new EpiCenter, which has been steadily rising within the ICOT Center on Ulmerton Road.
The two-building campus comprises the former home of Genca, a light manufacturing company, along with a newly constructed annex, which will hold SPC's administration.
A second story has been added to the Genca building, along with state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a special lab for the master's degree program in electrical engineering and all the computer certification programs now currently housed at the Young-Rainey STAR Center in Largo.
Other agencies sharing the campus include WorkNet Pinellas, the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the county Economic Development Department and the Pinellas County Arts Council. The county contributed $8-million to the $32-million project, which is primarily financed by SPC. Construction and remodeling are expected to be completed by January.
The main building will open in phases starting next spring, said Susan Reiter, SPC's director of facilities planning and institutional services.
The mix bodes well for both SPC and the county, especially when new businesses are seeking educational options for employees, officials say.
"Not only will the county address opportunities at the college, but we'll be there to address education issues and for their work force as they move in," Reiter said. "It's a good combination. We work closely with Pinellas County with economic development and in the training arena. It puts those groups in one place and creates a synergy between the entities."
The main EpiCenter building will hold business training and development classes as well as USF degree programs and SPC's own four-year bachelor's degree programs in technology management. Corporate training will also be held in the main building, within a lab designed for corporate problem-solving.
The nearby annex will become home to everyday functions such as facilities planning, mail sorting and accounts payable. Traffic to this second building will be limited mostly to college and county employees.
The move should bring hundreds more people to visit the Ulmerton Road corridor, something that local restaurants and dry cleaners would welcome. The Bay Vista area last year lost about 200 jobs from Tech Data.
SPC has also purchased the old Coliseum nightclub, at 13707 58th St., just off Ulmerton Road. College officials said they have not decided how the building will be used.
Meanwhile, SPC has signed off on the sale of its current administrative building at 8580 66th St. N in Pinellas Park. The Pinellas County School Board will purchase it for $3.6-million.
Largo is excited about the building's pending opening.
"It's very important to Largo," said Tom Morrissette, president of the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber of Commerce. "The EpiCenter certainly will be a focal point for a lot of economic development."
The building's central location should make it accessible to people from the northern and southern ends of the county, officials say.
But for Largo, the hope is that the end result is better education.
"Certainly, you hope the spinoff is that those who are educated here will stay here," said Morrissette.
Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or samuels@sptimes.com
SPC'S EPICENTERWHERE: Within the ICOT Center on Ulmerton Road.
WHEN: The move to the new center will begin in phases next spring.
CAMPUS MATES: WorkNet Pinellas, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Economic Development Council and the Arts Council.
NUMBERS: The total project costs $32-million, of which the county contributed $8-million.