Negotiations for USF St. Petersburg’s purchase of the Gulfcoast Legal Services property at 641 First St. S. are underway. USF announced its intention to buy the property at a Board of Trustees Finance and Audit Workgroup on Nov. 7.
No agreement has been settled yet, Kathleen Mullin, executive director at Gulfcoast Legal Services, clarified in an interview with the Crow’s Nest.
“Everyone’s reporting that we sold our building,” she said. “This is news to me.”
USFSP made an offer in May 2012 to purchase the property for $850,000, but it never went through. After an appraisal, USFSP reduced its offer to $735,000 on Sept. 23.
The inclusion of Gulfcoast’s property into campus would provide USFSP with 10,000-square-feet in space. The school would also acquire 17 parking spaces, which could be accessed through the Parking Lot 5.
“If you didn’t know otherwise, you would think it’s part of our campus,” said Tom Scherberger, USFSP’s director of communications.
Scherberger said USFSP is still deciding what services they would move into the new building, but Graduate Studies Admissions is one option. Currently, the admissions staff is scattered throughout different buildings on campus. Another option is Academic Support Services, currently located in the Terrace, according to minutes from the Nov. 7 Board of Trustees meeting.
Gulfcoast Legal Services, a nonprofit company that assists eligible Tampa Bay area residents with legal matters, has owned the First Street S. property since opening in 1978, Mullin said. Since then, it has opened offices in Clearwater, Bradenton and Sarasota, but St. Petersburg remains its headquarters. After 35 years, they have outgrown the space, Mullin said.
The St. Petersburg office handles legal matters involving domestic violence, children of immigrants, unemployment and homelessness, among others. Mullin said if Gulfcoast Legal Services does end up relocating their St. Petersburg office, they hope to stay in downtown St. Petersburg, in order to best serve their clients, many of whom do not own reliable transportation.
Mullin thinks that USFSP and Gulfcoast Legal Services will reach an agreement, but she is not sure when. Both sides must operate through a board of directors, which slows the process, she said.
Because property at the St. Petersburg campus is limited, USFSP looks when buildings become available nearby, Scherberger said. In early 2013, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies put four acres of its property, adjacent to USFSP along Third Street S., up for sale. USFSP looked at the Poynter property, Scherberger said, but they are not planning on buying it.
Buying property is cheaper than leasing it, according to the Board of Trustees’ minutes. Leased property away from campus also burdens students and faculty to travel beyond the limits of USFSP.
