The early construction of a Biological Sciences Building in the southeast quadrant of Florida Technological University was no small task. In 1970, a preliminary cost analysis by James Schroeder, the Campus Planner, revealed that the four-story, 56,341 square foot project could not be budgeted at a figure of $2.5 million as originally planned. These original plans accounted for equipment, furnishings, professional fees, and building construction, but were essentially meant to establish a bare bones facility.
Hoping to compete with other state universities, Schroeder analyzed the cost and space allotted for the construction of two very similar life science buildings at the University of Florida. This led to his recommendation that FTU pursue a 7-8 story, 110,707 square foot project at a much larger and nearly doubled budget of $4,912,500. However, unlike the University of Florida, FTU was a new institution and most building projects required starting from scratch, rather than expanding on any existing facilities. The university chose to proceed with their original four-story project, allowing flexibility for later expansions.
By November of 1971, President Millican, Vice President Gambrell, Vice President Goree, and several other members of university administration approved Phase I of the building program, but the complexities and uniqueness of the building program would require a great deal of time to complete. After the new Biological Sciences Building was finished in the spring of 1975, students began taking classes and faculty members quickly noted a few areas worthy of considerable expansion. By 1978, Bernard Ostle, Dean of Natural Sciences, described the growth of graduate research in biological sciences and expressed a desire to have a second wing of comparable size, ultimately matching the additional four stories that Schroeder had recommended in 1970. These additions and renovations would not be completed for more than two decades. Between 2000 and 2003, UCF was said to be acquiring $36.6 million, $11.6 of which would be allocated to expansions in the Biological Sciences Building.
