On Friday, Oct. 14, Florida State University’s College of Business held an invitation-only groundbreaking for its future home, Legacy Hall.
Michael Hartline, the college’s dean who was the associate dean at the time, took over the initiative in 2011 after it was first conceived in 2010. It has been a significant undertaking for Hartline ever since.
The president of FSU, Richard McCullough said without the financing they have been provided, this project could not have gotten underway, according to a news release.
“I could not be more excited to stand before you and talk about what a great project the new College of Business will be. It is going to be absolutely transforming for our university, for the region, for faculty, staff, students, alumni and the corporations we work with. This could not have been possible without support from Gov. DeSantis and significant appropriations by the Florida Legislature, which consistently demonstrates its support for higher education and Florida State University through investments such as this.” McCollough said.
With five floors and 218,000 square feet, Legacy Hall will be the largest academic structure on FSU’s campus. Students will be able to interact and work together in this building.
Hartline says that there is no area for collaborating and connecting in the building they are currently in.
“Well, our current building doesn’t have anywhere that students can hang out, study or work on projects together, or do work,” Hartline said. “Or collaborate or whatever it may be, collaborate with each other, collaborate with faculty or collaborate with executives who might be visiting campus.”
Because of this, students are forced to leave once they are done with classes and go to places like the union, the library or Starbucks and hang out there to get work done or work on projects together.
All of those spaces will be available in the new building, along with communal study areas, a café where they can eat, breakout rooms and collaboration areas where students may gather in teams and have more natural interactions with the staff. Students will also have access to a complete professional development suite and interview rooms, which they do not currently have, to conduct interviews with various businesses.
Kyara Walters, a third-year business-marketing student, expects nothing but greatness and a wealth of resources for the new College of Business building.
“Overall, I believe the new Legacy Hall will be effective in helping to provide business students with the materials and resources needed to advance them for post-graduate opportunities,” Walter said.
Legacy Hall will be built at the corner of Gaines Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and across the street from the Civic Center. It is expected to be up and running by the summer of 2025.