On Friday, July 22, 2011, Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., held a groundbreaking event to celebrate the start of construction on the university’s latest on-campus facility, an 86,000-square-foot design-build project. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs joined Full Sail President Garry Jones onstage. Also in attendance were Florida State Senator Thad Altman, City of Winter Park Mayor Ken Bradley, Winter Park City Commissioner Steve Leary and representatives from the firms involved in the project’s design and execution.
The modern, two-story educational complex will house 475 faculty and staff as well as add additional film/television soundstages and classrooms to the university’s 191-plus acre, 110-plus studio campus. With an expected completion date of spring 2012, the facility will complement the university’s January 2011 expansion into the Gateway Center in downtown Orlando where more than 200 Full Sail online administration and support team members occupy the building’s tenth floor.
“I’m amazed at how Full Sail has blossomed over the past 30 years to become an education Mecca where students from all over the world turn their passion for entertainment media into a career,” says Mayor Jacobs.
Through a design-build process, Full Sail collaborated with LAMM & Company Partners and Blankenship Architects, Inc. to renovate and expand a former Albertson’s grocery store that was left vacant following Albertson’s 2009 downsizing. Included in the $10-plus million dollar project is the renovation of the building’s façade that will feature 309 linear feet of blue glass, which—according to Stella Posada, Full Sail’s Senior Vice President of Image, Design and Development—will “merge the cohesive color palette that is found throughout the campus.”
“I congratulate Full Sail on the kickoff to their new construction project and commend the institution’s leadership for their $10-plus million investment in this facility,” said Florida Governor Rick Scott. “The ability for one of Florida’s finest institutions to expand is a direct result of student demand for leading post-secondary education such as the type offered by Full Sail. As a result of that demand, the institution has hired nearly 450 faculty and staff since January 2010 and their additional projected need for 550 employees over the next 18 months is impressive from an economic development standpoint for Florida; and, it is a testament to the institution’s international brand and appeal.”
For more information about Full Sail, visit www.fullsail.edu.
