Hillsborough College’s trustees voted on Wednesday to take a step forward with its Dale Mabry campus redevelopment, with votes on a Tampa Bay Rays stadium deal right around the corner.
The campus is the site of a proposed Rays ballpark and mixed-use district, which would include new Hillsborough College buildings.
The trustees approved an agreement with Philadelphia project management firm Pure Project Management LLC for the development of new buildings.
The firm also worked on the expansion of USF Health’s College of Nursing and the planning for USF’s on-campus football stadium.
The board also amended the college’s five-year capital improvement plan to include $50 million for the Dale Mabry campus’ redevelopment, which the state legislature passed in this year’s budget.
Hillsborough College plans to ask the state for additional money for the campus’ redevelopment, Chief Financial Officer Ken Burdzinski said. The total cost to redevelop the campus will be about $215 million, so the college plans to ask the legislature for another $165 million, he said.
Tampa resident Laura Lawson, who spoke during public comment, said she’s worried about the project because the legislature hasn’t yet provided the money needed to redevelop the campus.
According to the contract with the firm, the college will pay between $1.95 million and $2.4 million for owner’s representation — a representative of the college who is dedicated to the project full-time.
The 60-day period to execute the contract and start initial planning will cost the college $30,000.
Earlier on Wednesday, the college released renderings of planned academic buildings.
If local officials reach a funding deal, demolition and construction could begin this fall. The college plans to set up a temporary campus of portable trailers for students during construction. Not all college buildings would be demolished, though. The Patel Allied Health Center and science buildings would remain open, a spokesperson confirmed in June.
Laura Lawson, a Tampa resident whose daughter just started at the college, said there’s nothing in the college’s mission about real estate or baseball.
She said she’s worried about the project because the legislature hasn’t yet provided the money needed to redevelop the campus.
The Tampa City Council will vote on a Rays stadium proposal on Thursday. Hillsborough County commissioners will vote on Friday.
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