Campus Construction: Get the 411
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The University of Central Florida (UCF) has selected a building team to design and construct the new UCF-Valencia Downtown Campus, scheduled to open in fall 2018.
After careful deliberation with representatives from Valencia, Ustler Development and the City of Orlando, UCF appointed SchenkelShultz Architecture (SSA), Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) and Skanska USA Building Inc. (Skanska) as the construction team. The team was selected among eight design/build teams that submitted proposals for the project in April 2016.
UCF made a special exemption to permit external representatives, including Valencia’s Falecia Williams, West Campus president, and Allen Bottorff, assistant vice president, facilities planning and real estate development, to weigh in after each proposal presentation — affording Valencia a voice in building the foundations of the project.
“We are confident the selection committee from UCF has identified a team of building partners who will help us fulfill our shared vision for flexible, vibrant learning spaces at the Downtown Campus,” said Falecia.
Helping secure Valencia leadership’s confidence is that Valencia already has a strong working relationship with both SSA and Skanska. Valencia partnered with SSA to design Building 3 on Osceola Campus and Building 10 on West Campus and, most recently, Valencia appointed the firm as the architects for Building 1 at Lake Nona Campus.
Valencia is also currently working with Skanska to develop the Film and Sound and Music Technology Building and the Plant Operations Building at East Campus.
The SSA/RAMSA/Skanska team will now be responsible for developing the new downtown campus’ 165,000-square-foot academic building and renovating UCF’s adjacent Center for Emerging Media. Together, these facilities will host more than 7,700 UCF and Valencia students in the convenient downtown location.
The new campus will offer programs in digital media, health information technology, culinary arts and hospitality. The campus will also feature workforce training and other certificates to increase access to education in the immediate downtown area.
