Renovations to Florida A&M’s Gore Education Complex are scheduled for completion in November. A team from Baycrest Corporation and Mettron Contracting Incorporated have been working since July 2011 on the $10,000,000 project. They broke ground on the building last November.
In recent years, Florida A&M has undergone a series of renovations. Sampson and Young Hall has been restored along with the remodeling of Jones and Tucker Hall.
The Gore Education Complex includes three 3-story buildings totaling 60,000 square feet to be completely renovated and remodeled. Additionally, there are over 5,700 square feet of connecting pieces between the buildings, plus sidewalks.
President of Mettron Contracting Inc. and Senior Project Engineer Sharen Hannah, said she is anxious for the project to begin.
“I’m excited,” said Hannah. “FAMU is a premier university and they deserve to have the best facilities to produce top level students.”
Mettron Contracting is a solely minority owned business. “I’m excited to have the opportunity for FAMU to use my company,” said Hannah.
Students and FAMU alumni remember what it was like in GEC before the renovations began.
Kawachi Clemmons, a FAMU graduate and current professor in the music department, said that the renovations are a long time coming. “The renovations are needed and well past due,” Clemmons said.
Shontavia Huggins, a fourth-year animal science student, said that GEC is one of her favorite places on campus. “GEC needs the upgrades and I’m happy it’s finally getting them,” Huggins said.
Some of the men and women working on the construction management team are graduates of Florida A&M.
The new changes to the Gore Education Complex will include a new entrance from Gamble Street, the Gallery of Distinction, and glass windows that reflect the sun.