PCC Targets Land for Northeast Campus

LAKELAND | Thirty or more acres of citrus land once considered for housing development across U.S. 27 from Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center now are in line to become Polk Community College's long-desired northeast campus.

The PCC Board of Trustees, meeting Monday at its Lakeland campus, authorized President Eileen Holden and board lawyer Don Wilson to negotiate a contract with Cassidy Homes, the housing developer that owns the Northeast Polk land.

The land being considered is about four miles south of Interstate 4. It is a 48.7-acre working citrus grove between Florida Development Road on the north and Holly Hill Fruit Road on the south. The land is about 2,800 feet east of U.S. 27, architect Gerald Trout said.

Cassidy would retain a strip along the highway for commercial use, said George Urbano, PCC's facilities director.

PCC wants to buy at least 30 acres of the Cassidy property, with the possibility of an option for smaller parcels on either side.

Straughn Trout Architects and Holden recommended the property over another site, owned by Civix, on the west side of U.S. 27. Cassidy had almost 49 usable acres, compared with slightly more than 12 on the Civix property, Trout said.

Straughn Trout evaluated both sites for PCC and presented drawings and three-dimensional animations Monday of what could be done on each.

"This recommendation is not a surprise," said Trustee Greg Littleton, who inspected the two sites with Holden earlier this year. "It was evident, looking at these two pieces, that the Cassidy piece by far was the most usable."

It would have lower development costs and buildings located on it would be more visible from U.S. 27. Another important consideration: The Cassidy site, unlike the Civix one, wouldn't have restrictions because of the Green Swamp or 100-year floodplain, Trout said.

The northeast campus building is likely to be five stories tall. It would have a parking garage, an "urban design" that PCC officials consider highly compatible with other development in that area.

Buying land for the campus now, when housing construction is slow, should let PCC get it for a much lower price than it could have been a year ago, said Littleton, who is president of Citizens Bank & Trust in Lake Wales.

PCC will get two appraisals of the land to determine its value, Holden said after the meeting.

During Monday's meeting, she said the cost of the property probably would be in the range of $90,000 per acre.

"The money we have is certainly within reach to start talking," she said.

PCC already has nearly $2.3 million in state funds, specifically allocated by the state for acquiring a site in Northeast Polk, to use toward the purchase. Getting an additional $500,000 from the state to use on that site is a top capital improvement priority, Urbano said.

Holden agreed with Littleton that buying now, rather than later, is important.

"We all know the housing market will come out of its slump and we'd be (able to buy land) nowhere near 27," she said.

PCC now provides some college classes at Ridge Community High School in Northeast Polk. Extensive growth in that area makes having a campus there increasingly important to college officials.