Hillsborough College Drops Mobile Classroom Plan for North Dale Mabry

Hillsborough College will not use temporary mobile buildings for classes at the North Dale Mabry campus while the Tampa Bay Rays stadium is constructed. Dr. Ken Atwater, the college president, announced the change to the Tampa City Council on Thursday.

The original proposal called for students to attend classes in portable structures at a site known as The Nest during construction. Under the revised plan, coursework will shift to the University of South Florida Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in downtown Tampa. Additional classes will be held in office buildings at Tampa Bay Park, which is less than a mile from the current campus location.

The Nest will still host administrative functions, student services, the library, and the bookstore. Atwater said the college made this decision to prevent students from studying in portable classrooms adjacent to a major construction zone.

"You're going to [have] portables. You're going to be right next to a big construction project that's going on. How will that negatively impact our learning?" Atwater asked council members during his presentation.

The college intends to operate shuttle services to assist students with transportation, scheduling, and parking. Between 22,000 and 27,000 students currently take classes at the North Dale Mabry campus. The relocation will affect where these students attend classes and how they access college services during the construction period.

Student reactions to the new plan are mixed. Theresa Rodriguez, an HCC student, said she does not view the move as a problem because all courses remain available and accessible. "As all the courses are still available, and we're able to have access to everything that we need, I don't see it as a problem," Rodriguez said.

Laura Lawson, whose daughter attends the college, expressed concern that the educational mission is being secondary to the stadium plans. "Reconstruction of the college should have happened before the stadium gets built, but instead they've got it backwards," Lawson said. "I believe that that core mission of the college is being compromised because it has become subordinate subject to this RAYS stadium plan."