ASHLEY THOMPSON
The Corsair
PJC, in conjunction with the Santa Rosa School District is set to begin building a new facility in the Midway area of Gulf Breeze.
This facility, called PJC South Santa Rosa Center, will house multiple areas of study and will include labs and classrooms, as well as an administrative area, and will house different types of studies.
This area is located at 5075 Gulf Breeze Parkway, adjacent to the intersection of Highway 98 and Nantahala Beach Rd.
The first phase of the project will be a 33,000 square foot building that is set on 110 acres of land, 30 of which are wetlands that are scattered throughout the grounds. Initially, only one building is being built, however there is room for 10 or more to be built as needed.
The $9.4 million, two-story, multi-use building will include a conference room, general classrooms, biology lab, multiple science labs, computer lab, administrative/admissions area, financial aid and bursar offices, faculty offices, student services, a library and bookstore.
“The building will be designed and built to maximize energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts,” said PJC’s physical plant director, Walt Winter.
Construction is set to start in the second quarter of 2010 and will be PJC’s first “green” building. The South Santa Rosa Center is being designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification.
The LEED certification has been around since 1998 and has a rating scale which ranges from Certified to Platinum and a system with 69 available points, grading things like ventilation and sustainable building materials.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2011. The funding comes from the Florida’s Public Education Capital Outlay fund, a tax revenue that is dedicated to the construction, repair and expansion of the state’s schools ranging from elementary to college.
“Having Santa Rosa School District as a joint use partner helped secure the initial funding for the project,” Winter said.
Students in Santa Rosa County will also have limited access to the center for things like dual enrollment courses.