During a recent community meeting, Santa Fe College (SF) introduced plans to build an automotive technology training center at its campus in downtown Gainesville, the Blount Center.
According to an SF College press release, the facility “is part of a larger effort to increase access to workforce education and training in the area.”
“This center currently touches 3,300 lives,” SF College President Dr. Paul Broadie II said to those gathered at the Oct. 22 meeting at the Blount Center. “And sometimes they are students turning hopelessness into hope, and we want to keep that going. As we looked at our academic programs, we wanted to put more in the downtown community. Because for us, this project is about changing lives. This project is about giving people opportunities. This project is about pouring into our future generations.”
The $16 million,17,200-square-foot building will be built on the former site of Mauldin’s Auto Glass, which closed in 2021, and will include “interactive classrooms and specialty teaching bays” capable of serving up to 60 students per semester, the release said.
Industry partners will also be able to use the facility for community training.
To complement the new building, sidewalks will also be added to the north end of the Blount Center campus, “connecting to the rail trail, surrounding neighborhood,” and across the center property to improve “both pedestrian access and safety,” the release said.
In partnership with the city of Gainesville, the release states that the Blount Center will also use a section of NW 5th Street as part of the training center to allow students and faculty to operate training vehicles in a safe environment.
Spiezle Architectural Group designed the training center, which will be built by Scorpio Construction.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the center is scheduled for early 2026, with a planned opening in fall 2027.