By B.C. Manion
Hillsborough Community College wants to expand into Northwestern Hillsborough County – and has received the State Board of Education’s approval to do so.
If this story sounds familiar, it’s because the state gave the college the same kind of permission 10 years ago.
The college submitted a new request on Aug. 26 because so much time had elapsed, the state asked the college to update its proposal, said Ashley Carl, spokeswoman for HCC.
HCC President Ken Atwater justified the college’s request in an Aug. 26 to Judith Bilsky, executive vice chancellor in the division of Florida colleges. The letter was accompanied by a detailed proposal, justifying an HCC northwest satellite.
Atwater’s letter notes that the college’s enrollment continues to grow and that a center within Northwest Hillsborough “will greatly improve access to higher education for residents of Citrus Park, Lutz, Odessa, and Northwest Hillsborough County while also relieving overcrowding at our Dale Mabry campus, HCC’s largest campus.”
The region already sends more than 3,500 students to HCC, according to a college analysis.
Residents from Central Pasco may also benefit from a new HCC site because community college enrollments are not tied to boundaries.
Denise Layne, an activist in Lutz, said “the civic association is very supportive of having a satellite location. It makes sense.”
She said she and other community representatives have met with Rob Wolfe, a vice president at HCC, who has made assurances that the college has no desire to put the satellite in an area against the community’s wishes.
Barbara Dowling, recording secretary of the Keystone Civic Association, said the community favored a proposed location on Old Tobacco Road, which is in the Lutz planning area.
Siting the center in Keystone’s planning area may be difficult because the area relies on water wells and septic tanks, Dowling said.
Carl said that the college needs to expand because the Dale Mabry campus is already over capacity and has no room to grow there.
The Northwest Center would offer a variety of courses such as intermediate and college algebra, anatomy and physiology, psychology, sociology, English and American history. It also would offer introduction to business administration, introduction to computer technology, human nutrition, physical education and other courses.
The college has been looking for a Northwest location for more than a decade and has looked at more than 20 locations, Carl said.
It has seriously investigated several sites, but they have not worked out because of costs or other development challenges, the college’s submittal says.
Some sites that were explored include the former Northdale Public Library, a K-Mart building on Waters Avenue, the Citrus Park Baptist Church and a site on Old Tobacco Road.
The college also has checked out leasing space but rejected those possibilities because they were not deemed to be cost-effective or were unsuitable for classroom use, the submittal says.
However, the submittal notes, “with softening of the real estate market in recent years, several more viable sites have emerged.”
Carl said the college is not looking at any specific site at the moment. She said she could not specify the general area the college is looking at, except to say it is unlikely that it would be west of Sheldon Road.
Atwater’s letter also states that he has met with the presidents of St. Petersburg College and Pasco-Hernando Community College to discuss ways they can collaborate. Presidents of both colleges also wrote letters to the state on behalf of HCC’s request.
