On Wednesday, September 11th, Florida Polytechnic University held a groundbreaking ceremony for the ARC, Applied Research Center. The 85,000 square foot ARC will be the second academic building on campus and will primarily cater to masters degree programs. It will feature research and teaching laboratories and student design spaces.
Photos provided by Thomas Bryant for Layers Media.
It was a warm, yet windy Wednesday morning. That didn’t stop suits, dresses, and heels from taking on the grass, still wet with the morning dew. There was ground to break, even if the ground was sand placed down specifically for the event.
“I can’t wait to see sort of research projects we start pumping out of here,” said Thomas Bryant, a student attending the groundbreaking. Bryant noticed clubrooms in the IST were being merged with other spaces as well as the recent addition of office cubicles in the Commons. “It would be nice cause we could start moving stuff out of the IST and do maybe a few more classrooms in the IST if we help with space management at least.”
Photos by Jason Chua for Layers Media
Attendees of the event included state and local representatives and a senator. Bryant noted that at the event, it was “interesting seeing all the board of trustees here just floating around.”
“I’m very excited to see finally get the ARC started building so we can have students using the space,” said Ryan Perez, Student Body President and Board of Trustees member. “This will then open up more classrooms in the IST that we can also use for clubs specifically as well as clubs can use the ARC as well.” Perez was enjoying a strawberry doughnut with multicolored sprinkles before the event.
With no announced completion date though, some current students may not be able to use the new facility. “I’m already conflicted with how I’m not gonna experience the full possibilities of [Florida] Poly. But I’m definitely coming back in the future as an alumni [sic],” said Perez who expects to graduate in spring of 2020 and plans to take a masters program, not at Florida Poly.
For now though, the ARC is just stakes and ground paint on the grass, and a pile of sand.
Cover photo provided by Thomas Bryant for Layers Media.