USF Rec Center Expansion, Student Dining Hall On Pace For 2011 Completion

The final conceptual design and location for the University of South Florida's Tampa campus recreation center expansion and southeast student dining facility are close to being finalized, and the $14.8 million project remains on track for completion by July 2011.

The 51,050-square-foot project will be part of the USF Sun Dome Arena complex on the east side of campus. The multipurpose facilities for the general student population are intended to help improve student health and well-being.

"They are important steps to improving students' capacity for healthy living and learning and will further enhance students' likelihood for success," says Eric Hunter, who is overseeing the projects as director of USF Campus Recreation. "Our overarching goal is to enhance our students' out-of-class experience and thereby maximize their full learning potential."

The recreation center expansion will add to the already existing exercise and fitness facility. The projects also will include a dining/food court, meeting and classroom space, a student-athlete training table and a commercial grade kitchen with catering amenities.

The projects are a collaboration between the Division of Student Affairs and the USF Athletic Department. The money for the projects comes from the university's Capital Improvement Trust Fund.

St. Petersburg-based Canerday, Belfsky & Arroyo is the architecture-engineering firm working on the projects, and the construction manager is Clearwater-based Biltmore Construction.

Read more about USF building projects.

Writer: Carter Gaddis
Source: Lara Wade, University of South Florida

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Carter Gaddis is a freelance writer and graduate of the University of South Florida (BA, mass communications). He covered sports for the Tampa Tribune for 16 years, including four years on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eight years on the Tampa Bay Rays beat. He publishes the parenting and social commentary blog, DadScribe, and is a contributing writer for the TODAY Show. He lives in Lutz with his wife and two sons. Carter can be found on Twitter @DadScribe.