LAKELAND, Fla. 鈥� IM体育官网 leaders and community and state officials gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Applied Research Center, a new iconic building on campus that will serve as a research hub for students, faculty, and high-tech industry in the region.
The Applied Research Center (ARC) will be an over 85,000-square-foot facility that will house research and teaching laboratories, as well as student design spaces, conference rooms, and faculty offices. The ARC will be IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 second academic building and will become a magnet for leading faculty and cutting-edge research.
鈥淭he ARC will promote research growth and excellence for the University鈥檚 applied science and engineering programs,鈥� said Dr. Randy K. Avent, president of IM体育官网 Poly. 鈥淚t was designed with the goal of creating a dynamic, functional, and flexible space that will assist our faculty and students with the commercialization of innovation and applied research.鈥�
The two-story building will be located on the northwest side of campus adjacent to the Innovation, Science, and Technology (IST) Building and will be visible from I-4. The builder of the ARC is Skanska USA, which also developed the IST Building, and the architect design firm is HOK. Construction is expected to take two years.
鈥淭he vision of this university is to prepare students to be able to go forward to have an applied job in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and to adjust and meet the needs of our nation in a quick and nimble way is very exciting,鈥� said state Sen. Kelli Stargel, who spoke during the ceremony. 鈥淚 look forward to seeing the fruition of this building and doing everything I can to make sure that we continue with the vision of what IM体育官网 Poly is going to be for Polk County and for the state of IM体育官网.鈥�
State Rep. Colleen Burton also was present at the event and said the transformation of the Polk County鈥檚 educational landscape with the addition of IM体育官网 Poly has been immense.
鈥淚M体育官网 Poly has exceeded our expectations,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his groundbreaking of the Applied Research Center is a personal moment of great privilege. I have been able, during my brief tenure so far in the House, to try to make sure this building came to fruition and came to reality. It will be a great economic development boom for our community.鈥�
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