Holler makes way for college

Lynn Colon has had her fingers and toes crossed for a while, but the Seminole State College dean's dream of expanding her Altamonte Springs campus will soon come true.

"This is the perfect time," Colon said. "[Colleges] are in high demand right now and it's part of our responsibility in the community to provide those opportunities."

Seminole State College's board of trustees agreed March 19 to pay $22.5 million for 25.4 acres, currently occupied by Holler-Classic Automotive Group dealerships, owned by RCJ of Winter Park.

Seminole State President E. Ann McGee was unavailable to comment, but the college provided a written statement.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime agreement that positions Seminole State to serve thousands of additional students for decades to come," McGee said in the statement.

McGee said more parking will be added soon, and in three years, the college will increase its size from 13 to 40 acres and add about 90,000 square feet of classroom and office space.

"Seminole State's campus will also extend all the way to Maitland Boulevard, something I've dreamed about since the college first purchased property in Altamonte Springs [in] 2003," McGee said in the statement.

The dealerships that are currently occupying the buildings off South State Road 434 — Classic Audi, Classic Chevrolet, Hummer of Orlando and Classic Driver's Mart — will close by January 2013 and re-open in new locations, said Holler spokeswoman Lori Booker.

Holler plans to reinvest the funds from the sale into existing dealership locations, the relocation of the Altamonte dealerships and a new design for Audi, she said.

The automotive group, which is currently in arbitration with General Motors to continue its Chevrolet contract, was content with selling the land to Seminole State because of the college's role in the community, she said. When Seminole State came to them with an offer the land wasn't even for sale.

"If they had called us just six months later, we wouldn't have been able to leave," Booker said. If construction on the Audi redesign had started earlier, it would have put a stop to the transaction.

"Because the [college] is so important to this community, [RCJ] went ahead and agreed to sell land that wasn't for sale," said Booker. "All that was sold was real estate. [The dealerships are] just going to be relocated."

RCJ and Seminole State had been in negotiations for months before agreeing on the $22.5 million price.

"I was originally concerned about the price of the property, but I think through negotiations it came down into the range that became reasonable for us," said Scott D. Howat, vice chairman of the district's Board of Trustees. "It's a great opportunity for Seminole State as far as making use of that facility, the partnership opportunity and the expansion of that facility."

The Altamonte campus, which opened in January 2008, is host to all of the college's health programs and has already hit capacity.

"We have been full almost from the day we opened," said Colon of the campus that served 2,823 students who more than packed the 563 available parking spaces at its opening. "The expansion will enable us to meet the demands of the community."

The first noticeable change from the purchase will be the increase in available parking, which will happen by the end of July, according to the college's communications manager, Jay Davis. He said the lot will provide parking for 200 to 300 additional vehicles.

Considering the current state of the economy, it's not unusual for taxpayers to wonder why the school wants to expand now, but the college's vice president for administrative services and chief financial officer, Joseph Sarnovsky, is confident that now is the best time to do so.

"This gives the opportunity to the college to expand their site with the lowest cost of real estate that we've seen in many, many years," said Sarnovsky. "It's going to save the taxpayers several million dollars."