Brian Duffner The Producer$ Real Estate Of Florida-Jupiter: Loxahatchee Real Estate Brian Duffner 05/07/2017

Palm Beach

State College

Palm Beach State College recently had a groundbreaking ceremony for its long-planned Loxahatchee Groves campus.

More than 100 locals, community leaders and officials attended.Dave Browning, mayor of Loxahatchee Groves, said he looks forward to the campus opening in the town of 3,000 residents, which incorporated in 2007. He said the building will maintain the site's rural and natural beauty.

The 75-acre campus is situated on the northwest corner of Southern Boulevard and B Road. It is slated to open in 2016.Palm Beach State College hasn't established a campus since the early 1980s when it opened the Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton campuses one year apart.

"It's really going to be an important development for the history of the college," said Wendy Link, vice chairwoman of the college's District Board of Trustees.The first building will be a three-story, 50,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility with classrooms, computer labs, administrative offices and a 250-seat lecture hall. It contains 468 student stations.

The first phase, which includes the building, site design, paving, drainage, utility infrastructure, fixtures and equipment, is expected to cost $25 million.The college plans to add two additional buildings within five to seven years depending on enrollment and the availability of construction funding. The next two buildings will include labs, a library, a cafeteria and a student center. Planning took nearly 10 years.

In 2005, a study confirmed that the county's growth was moving toward the northwest area of the county. And over the next 25 to 30 years, it could support a college."The bigger issue is that students at the Palm Beach Gardens and Lake Worth campuses averaged a drive of 45 minutes to one hour, each way, to get to campus," said Richard Becker, vice president of business services.

With the feasibility study in place, Palm Beach State College officials sought approval from the Florida Board of Education to build a fifth campus. The request was granted in 2006.Legislative funding budgeted for the project was vetoed three times before Gov. Rick Scott approved $6 million this year toward construction of the first building."This has been a labor of love," Link said, referring to the college's efforts to secure legislative funding for the campus.

After considering several sites, the purchase of land in Loxahatchee Groves was finalized in 2012. The location will provide easy access for students living in the county's west central communities of Loxahatchee, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington and The Acreage.

State Rep. Lori Berman, who is incoming chairwoman of the Palm Beach County legislative delegation, promised to work to secure additional funding."This is a beautiful campus," she said. "It is going to be an exciting addition to the community."