LEXEY SWALL-BOBAY / Staff

An aerial view of Lutgert Hall, a 63,000 square foot building serving as the gateway to FGCU and will house the Lutgert College of Business. Behind it is Herbert J. Sugden Hall.

LEXEY SWALL-BOBAY / Staff

An aerial view of Lutgert Hall, a 63,000 square foot building serving as the gateway to FGCU and which will house the Lutgert College of Business. Behind it is Herbert J. Sugden Hall.

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Students returning to Florida Gulf Coast University should have observed two new buildings as they started their fall semester classes.

The campus now includes Lutgert Hall, home of the Lutgert College of Business, and Herbert J. Sugden Hall, the Resort and Hospitality Management’s academic building.

Lutgert Hall sits at the school’s entrance, features 63,000 square feet and stands four stories high. The looming structure is the first thing visitors will see of the school.

“It makes the school seem really classy,” said Lauren Clark, a 20-year-old junior majoring in accounting, referring to the contemporary asymmetrical design of the building’s façade. Lutgert Hall is complemented by a modern art sculpture sitting atop a fountain.

Aside from the aesthetic perks, another advantage of Lutgert Hall is that students on campus have a little more room to breathe. Clark has three classes in Lutgert Hall this semester, all of which are business and finance-oriented.

“It’s good for accommodating larger classes,” she said. And since the College of Business is expected to grow by 4,000 students annually, this is good news to aspiring business and accounting majors.

Raymond and Beverly Lutgert donated $5 million in 2007 for the new academic building. A $5 million dollar-for-dollar gift match in state money, plus previously appropriated funding of $9.4 million, was used to construct the $19.4 million facility.

On the other side of campus, the new Sugden Hall, not to be confused with the Sugden Welcome Center along the university’s entrance, is beside the Student Union.

At 40,000 square feet, the two-story structure resembles a resort-style hotel to mirror its purpose to facilitate learning about resort management. Its open design is characteristic of the hospitality majors it serves to educate, making it very bright, inviting and spacious.

The $10 million Herbert J. Sugden Hall is also notable because of the facilities available to resort and hospitality management majors. A state-of-the-art kitchen, ballrooms, a conference space, a food testing lab, and a spa are available to students to use for their curriculum.

The reception to the new buildings on campus has been positive.

“Having new buildings means less crowding for now,” says junior Tom Penny, a 21-year-old business major. “But in the long run, it’ll draw more students in, which is a good thing for the university.”

Expansion at FGCU has not only created local jobs and reached out to better serve the educational needs of the students, it’s also stimulating a growing interest in what was once seen as just a small school with not as much to offer as some other larger state schools. And with the added progress comes the added prospects.

“The scenery is nice, and the architecture is nice,” Penny said. “But what it really says is that we’re serious about growing and becoming a top competitor school.”