Inside FSU's in-progress 'hub of business collaboration,' a project costing at least $130M
Florida State University broke ground Friday on what will be the College of Business’s innovative future home by summer 2025.
Legacy Hall, which is estimated to cost over $130 million, has been almost a decade in the making so far. It will be the largest academic space on FSU’s extended campus from its location at West Gaines Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“This space makes all the difference when it comes to developing the students’ passions and skills to succeed while inspiring the next generation of great business leaders, job creators and entrepreneurs,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “Legacy Hall is a necessary development for the future of the university, the future of our state and the future of our nation.”
The invite-only groundbreaking event took place Friday with more than 400 donors, administrators and public officials at the construction site. Speakers included McCullough along with FSU Board of Trustees Chair Peter Collins and College of Business Dean Michael Hartline.
“This building will become the hub of business collaboration for FSU, our region and globally,” Hartline told guests at the event. “We’re building it to attract the nation’s best students and faculty, and we can’t wait to educate the gamechangers of tomorrow in Legacy Hall.”
The Rovetta Business Building on FSU’s campus has been home to the College of Business throughout its 72-year existence since 1958.
As Legacy Hall is expected to be complete by 2025 after two and a half years of construction, Hartline calls the timeline “perfect and poetic" as it will mark the college’s 75th anniversary.
“Our reputation has outgrown Rovetta and we need a new building, but we’re never going to forget our Rovetta roots,” Hartline said.
With an anticipated five floors of more than 218,000 square feet, the building will accommodate future growth, as the college’s enrollment increases 1-2% each year. The Rovetta Business Building was built to accommodate 3,000 students but has over 8,000 students today, and Legacy Hall will be about 50% larger.
But the new addition to FSU’s campus will not only be a highlight for the university.
The college's future home will be a visible reshaping of the Tucker Civic Center area while also being a big change for downtown Tallahassee.
“This is a significant investment not only for Florida State, but also for Tallahassee and Leon County,” Collins said. “As an alum and as someone who met his wife here, I owe a lot to FSU. It’s so gratifying on an alum level to see people come in and commit to something like this to make it happen.”
Background on planning, funding of Legacy Hall
The university’s greater plans, which were in discussion with the city of Tallahassee as of last year, were to revamp the Civic Center area with an “Arena District” that would include Legacy Hall along with a convention center, a hotel, retail stores and restaurants to create a new gateway from FSU's campus.
Although there have not been any recent updates to determine whether or not the "Arena District" idea is still being worked on, according to an FSU spokesperson, Legacy Hall remains a project that is moving forward.
The Legacy Hall project started as a $65 million new-building campaign in 2013 and was originally expected to break ground in fall 2016 before its completion in fall 2018.
finalizing pricing and expects to start working soon after that is completed, according to an FSU spokesperson.
FSU celebrating the groundbreaking for its new college of business
Florida State University celebrating the groundbreaking for its new college of business and FSU says this is one of the biggest events in the business school’s 72-year history.
The new building for FSU’s college of business is a 120-million dollar project in the making, nearly 400 people came out Friday afternoon including city and county leaders along with FSU supporters.
The new legacy hall will be 280 thousand square feet with five floors including a financial trading room and a 300-seat auditorium.
It will be located just behind the Donald Tucker Civic Center at the corner of Madison and south Macomb Streets.
The college of business has been in the Rovetta business building since 1958.
The new facility is set to be the largest academic space on campus .. and it’s expected to be finished during the summer of 2025.
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