Florida Polytechnic University leaders and community and state officials gathered on Sept. 11 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Applied Research Center on its campus in Lakeland, Florida. The iconic building will serve as a research hub for students, faculty and high-tech industry in the region.
Excerpted from Florida Poly News:
The Applied Research Center (ARC) will be an 85,000-sq.-ft. facility that will house research and teaching laboratories, as well as student design spaces, conference rooms and faculty offices. The ARC will be Florida Poly’s second academic building and will become a magnet for leading faculty and cutting-edge research.
“The ARC will promote research growth and excellence for the University’s applied science and engineering programs,” said Dr. Randy K. Avent, president of Florida Poly. “It was designed with the goal of creating a dynamic, functional and flexible space that will assist our faculty and students with the commercialization of innovation and applied research.”
The two-story building will be located on the northwest side of campus adjacent to the Innovation, Science and Technology (IST) Building and will be visible from I-4. The builder of the ARC is Skanska USA, which also developed the IST Building, and the architectural design firm is HOK. Construction is expected to take two years.
“The vision of this university is to prepare students to be able to go forward to have an applied job in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and to adjust and meet the needs of our nation in a quick and nimble way is very exciting,” said state Sen. Kelli Stargel, who spoke during the ceremony.
