ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Flagler College has received the go-ahead to build a new dorm and parking garage in downtown St. Augustine.
Action News Jax got a look at what the new buildings could look like and how they'll impact the surrounding area.
Tim Ulich, manager at Carmelo's Marketplace across from Flagler College, hopes customers and sales will grow along with the college's expansion.
"It will increase our business; there will be more students, so we'll pick up," Ulich said.
Flagler College is set to add 150 dorm rooms across from the Marketplace on Malaga Street. We spoke with Flagler College President William Abare about the project finally being approved by the city.
"Roughly 40 percent of our students can be accommodated on campus. We would really like to move closer to 50 percent," Abare said.
Latest News Headlines from Action News
The new dorm will move the college closer to that goal. Abare showed us what the finished $20 million project could look like.
"The residence hall is here, the San Sebastian River, you can see it is right along the base there," Abare said.
A 35-foot parking garage with room for more than 500 students to park is set to be built right next to that residence hall, and students like Sarah Langston can appreciate this.
"I live off campus as a freshman so I have to drive to class every day and driving around everywhere trying to find parking just takes so much time," Langston said.
That struggle to find parking could soon be fixed.
"We now have to go from conceptual drawings to the actual construction drawings and that usually takes about four months," Abare said.
The college hopes to be able to break ground in April or May, with the project complete by the start of the fall semester in 2017.
For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts
WJAX
