‘Freedom Institute’ moves north, right on water; dense student housing planned for Bayshore Campus.
By Reece Helmick
Original Air Date: July 16, 2025
Host: New College of Florida in Sarasota held a public meeting Tuesday to get feedback for its updated 10-year campus master plan. Reece Helmick reports.
Master plan map of the northern area of New College’s campus. The ‘Freedom Institute’, originally planned for the Uplands shore, is now planned for this area, which was recently donated by Manatee County. The massive building would go up right on the bayshore.
Reece Helmick: Led by President Richard Corcoran, New College staffers joined Tuesday evening for a presentation and discussion of the university’s 10-year master plan. Christie Fitz-Patrick, who oversees finances for the college, spoke briefly at the beginning of the event at Sainer Auditorium, then directed all attendees to the lobby where questions could be answered in person. Each part of the campus of the college—North, East, South and West—is to undergo massive construction over the next 10 years. These additions include new dorms and classrooms, athletic facilities and mixed-use buildings.
The plan includes massing of student housing along the Dort walkway on the bayshore campus. East Campus will see a new baseball stadium and gym. South campus plans include a new boathouse. In a change from previous plans, construction of the Freedom Institute is now planned for the North Campus, a piece of land recently acquired from Manatee County. The Freedom Institute will house classrooms, seminar rooms and expansive conference halls and serve as a “beacon of intellectual discovery and community collaboration.” New College’s previous plan did not seek any new construction near the bay due to rising sea levels. The Freedom Institute would go up right on the bayshore.
New College of Florida President Richard Corcoran expressed his elation:
Richard Corcoran
Richard Corcoran: We’re super excited on all levels. Our facility is going to be absolutely, hands down, the best liberal arts faculty in the country. Our student body is going to be the best student body, hands down, in the country.
Our intent is to be the number one most beautiful college and university, and this is part of that process: building out that master plan, building out that community and campus that’s second to none.
RH: Jono Miller, president of NCF Freedom, was at the New College meeting. Miller, a retired professor who is president of NCF Freedom, an organization critical of the new administration, pointed out the lack of involvement in the process. According to Miller, he has been waiting one and a half years since the last public meeting, which was January 2 of last year, to have another meeting discussing the master plan.
JM: The last time we had a meeting was in January of 2024, and we’ve waited over 500 days to have another meeting, and that presentation lasted less than 15 minutes.
Master plan map of the Bayshore Campus. Five big and eight small student housing buildings are planned for that area.
RH: Miller also spoke on the previous board of trustees previous to the state takeover of the college two and a half years ago and was claiming they were more involved with the public than the new board.
JM: Prior to ‘23, we had a committee system, and it was open, and students were involved.
RH: At the event, Corcoran also addressed concerns about lack of financial transparency with donor funds by the New College Foundation. Critics suspect donations that were supposed to go to scholarships, classrooms, or teacher pay ended up paying for Corcoran’s $1.1 million compensation. Alumni have threatened to file a lawsuit against the university. But Corcoran holds that New College has been nothing but transparent.
New baseball stadium, new gym: Master plan map of the eastern area of New College’s campus.
RC: We’ve had audits from auditors, forensic accounting people—everything—and what has happened at the foundation is nothing. Again, we want to be the best at everything. Our foundation, we want it to be run the best way possible, so we’re completely transparent. All those documents are completely open.
RH: Corcoran also claims that donations are now exceeding those before the takeover, increasing New College’s foundation from $39 million in donations to just over $50 million, which is an increase of $11 million in just a few years. Corcoran expressed his excitement at the growth of donations, saying they will allow for the master plan to actually be implemented.
Reece Helmick, reporting for WSLR News.
You can view the campus master plan here.
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