Santa Fe College Breaks Ground on $16M Automotive Training Center at Blount Center

Downtown Gainesville is getting a major new addition. On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, Santa Fe College leaders, faculty, city officials, and community members gathered at the college's Blount Center campus to celebrate the official groundbreaking of a brand-new automotive technology training center — a $16 million, 17,200-square-foot facility that will reshape workforce education in North Central Florida.

Story originally reported by Nick Anschultz at Mainstreet Daily News.

The new training center is being constructed on the former site of Mauldin's Auto Glass, which closed in 2021. Sitework began in April 2026, and the facility is expected to open in fall 2027.

At 17,200 square feet, the center is designed to serve up to 60 students per semester and will include:

• Interactive classrooms and hands-on teaching bays
• Specialty training bays for advanced vehicle systems
• An engine and transmission lab
• A dedicated EV (Electric Vehicle) diagnostics lab for mastering high-tech safety features
• New pedestrian pathways and bicycle access to improve connectivity and safety across the Blount Center campus

The facility will also be made available to industry partners, extending its impact well beyond the classroom.

SF College President Paul Broadie II set the tone at Tuesday's ceremony:

Carrie Lee, chair of the SF College District Board of Trustees, added:

Gainesville Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker highlighted the facility's broader economic impact, noting it will "produce high-skilled, high-wage job opportunities" in SF College's service district and improve pedestrian safety and connectivity throughout the Blount Center area.

The construction of the SF College Blount Center automotive training center is being managed by Scorpio Construction — a respected commercial general contractor with a strong track record of delivering institutional and educational projects across Florida.

Projects of this caliber require experienced general contractors who can coordinate complex multi-trade construction schedules, manage subcontractors, and deliver on tight timelines. Scorpio Construction brings exactly that kind of expertise to the Blount Center jobsite.

A $16 million, 17,200-square-foot institutional construction project doesn't happen without a significant workforce behind it. From sitework and foundations to framing, mechanical systems, and finish work — every phase of this build requires skilled and general labor workers showing up every day and performing.

Projects like the SF College Blount Center automotive training center typically require:

• General laborers for site prep, demolition, material handling, and cleanup
• Concrete and masonry workers for foundations and structural elements
• Framing and drywall crews for interior buildout
• Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing support labor assisting licensed trades
• Finish laborers for flooring, painting prep, and final punch-list work

That's a sustained demand for construction labor over more than a year of active construction — and workforce gaps at any phase can delay a project and drive up costs.

When contractors working on institutional and commercial projects in Gainesville and North Central Florida need reliable, pre-screened construction labor, they call All Florida Personnel.

We've been Gainesville's locally owned construction staffing partner since 2013. We know the market, we know the workers, and we know how to mobilize quickly when a project needs people.

Here's what we bring to projects like the SF College Blount Center build:

• A ready pool of vetted construction laborers available on short notice
• Flexible scaling — from a handful of workers for a short phase to larger crews for sustained project needs
• Full Workers Compensation and General Liability coverage on every placed worker
• Local knowledge — we're based in Gainesville and serve Alachua County and all of North Central Florida

Whether you're a general contractor, subcontractor, or project manager working on a commercial or institutional build in the Gainesville area, we're the labor partner you want in your corner.

Call All Florida Personnel at (352) 505-0503 or submit a worker request online to get started.

Source: Mainstreet Daily News — SF College breaks ground on automotive technology training center, reported by Nick Anschultz, June 2, 2026.