Flagler college prepares for construction after city approves academic building

By Tiffanie Reynolds | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Gaining the approval of the city commission in a 3-2 vote, the plans for a new academic classroom building still have a way to go before the first brick can be laid.

“I don’t count my chickens until they’re hatched and I’m certainly not going to start doing some celebration dance because I want to make sure that we are fully through the process,” said Flagler College President William Abare.

The plans will need to be completed with every detail drawn out before Flagler can present them to the Historic Architectural Review Board for their final review. Once the board approves the plans, Flagler will be given a certificate of appropriateness and construction can begin.

Abare said getting the City Commission to approve the project was an effort from the whole college, as trustees, alumni, students and faculty from several different departments attended Tuesday night’s meeting in support.

“The building will serve everybody. The Communication Department will have a large presence in the new building, but there will be classes taught in every area in the new building,” said Tracy Halcomb, chair of the Communication Department.

Besides housing a new television studio, faculty offices and a commons area, the three interconnected two-story buildings will also have eight classrooms open to every major.

John Monroe, president of Flagler’s Student Government Association, represented the student’s opinion by talking about the lack of classroom space during the meeting.

“Flagler has literally put classrooms in every place they can,” Monroe said. “If Flagler could put a classroom in a broom closet, it would have already been done.”

Construction is anticipated to begin in June 2013 and the building is expected to be completed by May 2014.