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Feb. 4, 2003
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-The Florida State University College of Medicine broke ground today on a 270,000-square-foot complex of buildings that will be the school's new home starting next year.
The $60 million complex on the northwest corner of the FSU campus will consist of an education and administration building, which includes facilities for first- and second-year medical education, a research building and an auditorium.
"This new facility represents the first opportunity in more than 20 years to build an entirely new medical school from the ground up," said College of Medicine Dean J. Ocie Harris, M.D.
"It will offer the latest in medical information technology and wireless communications to keep our students on the cutting edge."
The three new medical school buildings will surround a cloister garden and will follow the Jacobean architecture of the historic core of the FSU campus. They will be built in phases over the next two years, with the education and administration building expected to be complete by next summer.
The medical school then will begin moving out of its current facilities in the renovated buildings previously occupied by FSU's Developmental Research School. Gradually, all of the buildings that once housed the school known as "Florida High" will be torn down to make way for the phased construction of the research building and the auditorium.
The technologically rich interior space of the new buildings will feature wireless Internet capabilities throughout and classrooms outfitted with state-of-the-art electronics for classroom presentations, videoconferencing and distance learning. Eight student communities, each accommodating 30 students, will provide a learning environment that promotes teamwork and small-group study.
The new Clinical Learning Center, a simulated clinic designed for teaching patient communication and basic clinical skills, will include 14 patient rooms outfitted with the latest digital recording equipment and medical information technology resources, including an electronic medical record system.
The research building will house 48 high-tech laboratories for the advancement of research in biomedical science, geriatrics, rural health, patient safety and many other areas.
A 300-seat auditorium, 150-seat lecture hall and several classrooms for 40-60 students will accommodate the estimated 240 students who eventually will be located on the main campus at any given time. The medical school currently has 30 second-year students and 40 first-year students. A third class will be admitted in May.
Third- and fourth-year education will take place in community settings at the school's regional campuses in Orlando, Pensacola and Tallahassee.
Project architects are Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum Inc., in association with Elliot Marshall Innes, PA. Construction is a joint venture of Centex Rooney Construction Co. and LLT Building Corporation.