A groundbreaking ceremony for the Research Village at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience took place on Dec. 2, 2017, from 11 a.m. to noon on the Whitney Laboratory campus, 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd. Remarks were made by members of the Whitney Research Village Trustee Committee, Chair of the Whitney Trustee Board Kate Rowe and University of Florida Provost Joseph Glover.
The Research Village will expand capacity at Whitney Laboratory to educate more students and welcome more visiting scientists for marine research. Phase one will be available for visiting students and scientists by fall 2018 and involves the construction of six cottages, which will double housing capacity by 24 beds at Whitney Laboratory.
“The Research Village helps us move toward preeminence in marine science and education for Whitney Laboratory to further cement the University of Florida as a top 10 public university,” said Whitney Laboratory Director Mark Martindale.
The cottages have been designed and will be constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Each two-story cottage will accommodate up to four guests with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The Research Village will also feature outdoor spaces such as a classroom, living room and collaboration areas surrounded by a planned dune restoration landscape.
“Education is a key component of Whitney Laboratory’s mission, and the Research Village showed that the community has joined us to further that mission,” said Jessica Long, director of development and external relations at Whitney Laboratory.
The Whitney Research Village Trustee Committee members are Chair Pat Hamilton, Brian Keller, John Perkner, Kate Rowe, Doug Wiles, Mark Martindale and Jessica Long. Phase one of the Research Village is funded in part by donors, and each of the six cottages will be named in honor of the donation received. The state of Florida was essential in starting the project with an initial appropriation to expand the campus housing at Whitney Laboratory.