Stetson University College of Law

January 7, 2003:  Gulfport, Fla. - Stetson University College of Law will launch construction on Tampa's first and only law school with a groundbreaking ceremony on Jan. 10 at 9:30 a.m. at the 1700 N. Tampa St. site just off Interstate 275.

U.S. Congressman Jim Davis and Tampa Mayor Dick Greco will speak at the event. The Children's Chorus from Lee Elementary School of Technology will perform during this ceremony. Lee Elementary is within the Tampa Heights neighborhood, home to the new law school.

"Stetson's Law Center and Campus is a long awaited dream that will soon become a reality and complete Tampa's goal as a center for academic excellence," said Tampa Mayor Dick Greco.

The Stetson Law Center and Campus will be a major hub for legal activity in downtown Tampa. The campus will offer courses and degree programs from one of the nation's top law schools, and the Florida Second District Court of Appeal and Hillsborough County Bar Association are also expected to reside on the property.

Stetson purchased 7.3 acres from the City of Tampa in December 2002 to build the Stetson Law Center and Campus in downtown Tampa. The groundbreaking ceremony will mark the beginning of the first phase of construction, which is expected to take 10-12 months.

The three-story, 73,500-square-foot building will reflect the same Spanish-Mediterranean architecture of Stetson's Gulfport campus, including a tower that will overlook downtown Tampa. The first floor will house classrooms, a state-of-the-art courtroom and a full law library; the second, proposed chambers and offices for judges and court employees, and the third floor will be reserved for future law school use.

The general contractor is Angle & Schmid and the architectural firm is FleischmanGarcia.

###

Stetson University College of Law is Florida's first law school. It has educated lawyers for more than 100 years, and offers continuing legal education programs for regional, state, national and international audiences. Stetson University College of Law tied for first place in Trial Advocacy in the 2003 U.S. News & World Report rankings of law schools. It is also the future headquarters for the National Conference of Law Reviews.