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SPC to buy another chunk in ICOT park

After filling its EpiCenter campus in a year, the college signs to purchase 7.45 acres. The Coliseum will likely be torn down for parking.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published September 27, 2005

LARGO - St. Petersburg College has outgrown its new EpiCenter campus and plans to acquire its fifth property in the ICOT Center business park.

Earlier this month, SPC signed a contract to purchase a 7.45-acre property from ECI Telecom for $6.1-million. The contract is subject to approval by the college's board of trustees; SPC plans to close on the property Oct. 21.

The property, which is around the corner from the SPC EpiCenter campus in Largo, is home to a 79,100-square-foot building with 20,000 square feet of warehouse space.

"Our new EpiCenter building is completely full. Our new services building is full, and knowing we were really jammed for space, we made a decision to put in an offer," said Susan Reiter, SPC's director of facilities planning and institutional services.

The EpiCenter campus on 58th Street houses SPC's administration, corporate training and collaborative labs. 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.

SPC began moving into the EpiCenter facilities in September 2004. The school leases space in a building near the EpiCenter for its library processing center. Its foundation leases a suite in the Melitta Coffee building, which sits between the EpiCenter and the EpiCenter Services building.

To cope with the space crunch, the college purchased the Applied Fiber Systems building north of the EpiCenter complex for about $2.35-million earlier this year.

And last year, SPC purchased the crime-plagued Coliseum nightclub, south of the EpiCenter complex, from R. Lee Fab Inc. for $1.55-million.

In the coming months, SPC will decide how it will use its new space, but a variety of options have been discussed. The Applied Fiber building will probably be used for storage, and the Coliseum will likely be torn down to provide parking for the EpiCenter, Reiter said.

The property that SPC plans to purchase from ECI Telecom next month at 6021 142nd Ave. N was home to Skyway Communications, which recently filed for bankruptcy.

Reiter said the college is exploring the possibility of freeing up offices on its Seminole campus by relocating its main communications system from that campus to the newly acquired property.

And with offices, classrooms, conference rooms and an auditorium, the new building is ready to house academic programs and provide educational and office space as the college expands its four-year offerings, she said.

"We are growing at other sites, and as we put four-year programs in place, they will have needs at the EpiCenter also," Reiter said.

--Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 27, 2005, 02:45:31]