November 20, 2020 – The building that once stood on the northwest corner of West University Avenue and North Sixth Street and was the home to Santa Fe College’s Center for Innovation and Economic Development (CIED) may no longer exist, but crews from Parrish-McCall have made significant progress on the new three-story 87,366 square-foot facility that will become the Blount Hall.
The new facility is on track to open to students in the spring of 2022 and will become the new home for the college’s Business and IT degree programs. Part of the newly expanded Blount Campus, Blount Hall will offer students a full array of student services including admissions, financial aid, academic advising as well as a library and study spaces for both small and larger groups of students. The college’s downtown expansion will also provide a convenient location for underserved communities in and around the City of Gainesville to greater access to higher education opportunities in high-demand, high-wage fields of study.
Earlier this week, Parrish McCall submitted new photographs, which you can see below, and a time-lapse video of the progress made on the new facility. All updates on the progress can be found on the Blount Center Expansion page on the SF website.
Funding for the project comes from both the private and public sector, including more than $13 million in state funding, a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and $1 million in private support. Funding from the EDA will specifically be used for the expansion of the CIED’s business incubation space for local entrepreneurs in order to strengthen the region’s economy and provide students the opportunity to work and learn from local start-up companies and business leaders.
Crews from Parrish-McCall make progress on the expansion of the Blount Campus. Photos are courtesy of Parrish McCall, November 2020. 
Crews from Parrish-McCall make progress on the expansion of the Blount Campus. Photos are courtesy of Parrish McCall, November 2020. 
Crews from Parrish-McCall make progress on the expansion of the Blount Campus. Photos are courtesy of Parrish McCall, November 2020. 
Crews from Parrish-McCall make progress on the expansion of the Blount Campus. Photos are courtesy of Parrish McCall, November 2020. 
Crews from Parrish-McCall make progress on the expansion of the Blount Campus. Photos are courtesy of Parrish McCall, November 2020.